Now Hiring
by have-a-cookie
Summary: WANTED! Need a young maid that can cook and clean. Anything about sexual harassment in the job description? No? Well then, I'm so not getting paid enough. HikaruxOCxKaoru
1. April  Part 1

**WANTED! Need a young maid that can cook and clean. Anything about sexual harassment in the job description? No? Well then, I'm so not getting paid enough. HikaruxOCxKaoru **

**Rating: T (for future chapters)**

**Chapter 1: April (Part 1)**

_I suppose I should have been more suspicious when Hitachiin-sama (although she told me to call her Yuzuha-san) agreed to hire me on the spot when I came asking for a job. She said it was because she needed a new maid on short notice. At the time, I was ecstatic I didn't have to continue my job hunt. _

_In hindsight, I see that setting foot on the Hitachiin estate was either my biggest mistake or the best thing to happen to me._

_Either way, this is the story about my stay in the Hitachiin mansion. Perhaps I should warn you though; this tale is one that includes promiscuous maid outfits, sexual innuendos, flirting, kissing, the occasional biting, and of course, the feeling that I'm being watched by two hormonal teenagers 24/7._

_That said, let me begin. It all started one sunny April afternoon…_

"What do you mean you're looking for a job?"

Yue sighed. "I mean, my parents can't afford to send me to go to school anymore. If I want to get into a good university, I have to get through high school. And since my parents can't afford the monthly fees themselves, I'll have to help them."

It was Yue's third year of high school. Her family had been used to living from paycheck to paycheck, but her father recently lost his job and found a new one. Unfortunately, his new job didn't pay as well as his previous one, leaving the family in a tight situation. Yue had decided to look for work herself, as she recently turned eighteen and could now look for a job that would pay her…well, halfway decently.

"But still…you're in high school Yue! You can't balance a job and school."

Ayaka Takana was Yue's best friend. However, her family was a bit more wealthier than Yue's, so she didn't completely understand the situation. She was more afraid that Yue wouldn't be able to hang out with her as much as before.

"Aya-chan, it'll be okay." Yue reassured her friend. "See, this wanted ad is looking for a maid that can work part time. I can do that…I mean, I'm a relatively clean person. I do the majority of the cleaning at home anyways."

Ayaka grabbed the ad from Yue's hand and scanned it. Halfway through, her jaw dropped. "This ad is asking for a maid for the Hitachiin family." She closed her mouth and her gaze hardened. "You should look for another job. I don't think you'll like it much over there."

Yue took the ad back and sighed. "But it pays really well and I really need this job. Besides, they can't be that bad. I mean, you own a few items of clothing from Yuzuha's spring line right?"

"Yeah, but haven't you heard rumors about her two sons?"

In all honesty, Yue had no idea that Hitachiin-sama had children. So she shook her head. "But I'll be a maid, it's not like I'll be their friend or anything. I probably won't even see them. You don't have to be jealous or anything." she teased.

"W-w-who said I was jealous!" Ayaka squeaked. "It's just…well from what I've heard they're total players."

Yue giggled. "Players? Well, I think I'll be fine. They only go for pretty girls, right? How old are they anyways, thirteen?"

Ayaka rolled her eyes. "They're sixteen, so not that much younger than you. And you _are_ pretty, so I suggest you watch your back."

"Well, I haven't even gotten the job yet so there might not be need to avoid them." She glanced at her watch. "Well, my interview starts in ten minutes, so I should get going." She gave Ayaka a hug and said, "Don't worry so much. Everything will work out."

Ayaka snorted. "Whatever you say Yue."

_If one were to literarily analyze the situation, they would have called it foreshadowing. Thinking about it now made me realize how Ayaka was, in a way, psychic. Although she did get one thing wrong. The twins weren't players. They were just an identical pair of good looking heartbreakers._

_Although that's a story for another time._

Yue walked up to the Hitachiin mansion and almost fainted at the sight of how big it was. "This place looks more like a skyscraper than a house…" It intimidated her slightly. She had heard that rich people were snobby, especially to their help, and the bigger the home, the snobbier the family. But, Yue reminded herself, it was all so she could go to school. She smoothed out her shirt and hair, then she rang the bell.

A few moments later, the gate opened and a butler appeared. "Sato Yue I presume?"

Yue nodded her head. "I'm here about the-"

"Yes, the maid position. Follow me." The butler closed the iron gate and lead me into the mansion.

If possible, Yue's eyes opened wider when the front door opened. The first thing she noticed when she stepped inside were the polished marble floors which were so clean she could make out her reflection in the tile. Her eyes flicked around the room. Several Persian carpets were scattered throughout the room and through the hallways. On top of the carpets were several white leather couches and chairs. Paintings decorated the deep red colored walls. Granite statues of what looked to be Greek gods were perched in each corner of the room. She looked back to see two giant windows overseeing the street that she had just come from. Looking through the stained glass, the walkways seemed to be so much more beautiful.

"This is the parlor, where guests usually stay when they first arrive or are about to leave." The butler explained. "Everything in here is worth more than you are, so please refrain from touching anything."

Yue gulped. She was further intimidated about the big house and about breaking something. She knew that she probably would never be able to afford even ONE tile in the room.

"Right this way." the butler said, ushering her into another room. However, before she had the chance to marvel, she was taken up two flights of stairs and then through a long hallway (Yue was reminded of a hotel when she saw the many doors). The butler stopped at the last room and knocked softly, "Hitachiin-san, your guest has arrived."

Yue wondered what kind of woman Yuzuha would be. She hoped she was more warm and friendly than her butler was at the very least. She shuffled her feet anxiously when the door creaked open.

"Thank you Hideki-san, you are dismissed."

The butler, who Yue knew now as Hideki, bowed. "As you wish Hitachiin-san."

Yuzuha raised an eyebrow, "And I believe I told you to call me Yuzuha-san. Hitachiin-san makes me feel old. And you would never say I was old, would you?" Yue then decided that she liked her potentially new boss.

Hideki bowed again. "My apologies Yuzuha-san. Is there anything that you require? Tea and cookies perhaps?"

Yuzuha gave me a glance, "Is there anything you would like Yue?"

Yue was almost afraid to ask for something, but Yuzuha gave her a smile, so she figured it would be ok. "Do you have lemonade?"

Hideki smiled, "We most certainly do. I shall get it for you right away. Yuzuha-san?"

"Iced tea will be fine, thank you."

Hideki bowed once more and left. Yuzuha gestured towards the door and said, "Please come in and have a seat."

Yue followed orders and looked around the room. There were papers strewn all over, mannequins half covered with cloth, and when Yue looked down she saw several pins and needles on the floor. She made a note not to walk into this room without shoes. She also wondered if cleaning this room could possibly be her first job.

"Forgive the mess Yue, but I prefer to work in a more…chaotic environment, if you will." Yuzuha said, taking a seat opposite of Yue's.

"No apologies are necessary Hitachiin-sama."

"Formalities are not necessary either, Yue. Please call me Yuzuha-san. Now…I want to ask about your experience. Have you been a maid before?"

Yue shook her head. "No. I cook and clean for my family though. I've done it for the majority of my life."

"Could you list the chores you do at home?"

"Well…I typically make breakfast and bento lunches for my younger brother in the mornings, and after school I vacuum and do the laundry. Every other weekend I clean the bathrooms and my brother's and my room."

Yuzuha nodded. "And you're still going to school, correct?"

"Yes. I'm currently attending Omori High School. It's my last year there, but the tuition fees are getting a bit steep."

Yuzuha clicked her tongue. "Be glad you aren't attending Ouran then."

Yue decided it would be best not to say that she would give just about anything to transfer to Ouran Academy (it was her dream elementary, middle, and high school, but there was no way her parents could have ever afford it).

Hideki returned with lemonade and iced tea. "Anything else?"

"That will do, thank you."

Hideki disappeared once more. Yue smiled at Yuzuha, "He seems happy to be working for you."

"And I'm happy that he works for me." she studied Yue for a minute before saying, "I should tell you up front that this won't be…an easy job."

Yue only gave a small smile before replying, "I think I can handle it."

The clock ticked and tocked. Yuzuha's frown suddenly turned into a smile, "In that case Yue-chan…" she smiled sweetly, "when do you think you can start?"

Yue gave her a surprised look, "That's it?" Yuzuha nodded. "Well, I suppose I could start this upcoming Monday."

Yuzuha smiled. "Great! Let me just show you where your station will be. Oh, and do you mind terribly if you move in? I like my staff to live here in case I need them. Plus, we provide your meals and anything you might need for your room to make your stay more comfortable."

Yue couldn't believe her luck. She got a job that paid well and included free room and board. Stunned, she answered, "Um, I don't mind. But may I have my weekends off?"

Yuzuha smiled wider, "I don't mind that small request. Now, let's go." She stood from her seat and said, "And welcome to the Hitachiin estate."

_Yuzuha's warm welcome made me feel like I belonged. It was nice to be welcomed. My opinion on rich people dramatically changed. Yuzuha was kind, courteous, and very welcoming. She was kind of crazy, but I could see that she was going to be a great boss._

"You'll be in charge of the second floor." Yuzuha explained. "That's where my sons are. You'll take on the task of cleaning their bedrooms, bathrooms, and game room. And small chores as well, such as laundry and running the occasional errand if they need it."

Yue nodded in understanding. "Ok. That doesn't sound too bad."

Yuzuha didn't reply. Instead she led Yue through the second floor. "These two doors," she pointed to a door on either side of the hallway, "lead to the twins' rooms. Hikaru's is on the right and Kaoru's is on the left, although they usually just both sleep in Hikaru's."

Yue bit back asking why. Instead she nodded to show that she could remember. Yuzuha pointed to the room next to Hikaru's. "That's your room, but I'll show it to you after we finish going through the hallway."

"Okay."

Yuzuha showed her the bathroom and the game room. The other rooms on the second floor consisted of closets, the laundry room, and one door even had a passage way that led straight to the kitchen.

Yuzuha took Yue back to the room she said would be hers. "This is going to be your room."

Yue opened the door, expecting to see a small room with a bed and closet. Instead, she was met with a room that could contain two of her apartments. It had a king sized bed, a television, several gaming systems, a computer, a stereo, and a closet already filled with clothes.

"Feel free to decorate as you deem fit. Oh, and those clothes will be removed. They were the uniform for the last maid we had, but they'd be too big for you. I'll get you your own set when you report to work next week."

Yue nodded, still in shock over the size of her room. Even if she brought everything she owned, she'd never be able to fill up a room that size.

"Well, I suppose that's it then. I expect to see you after school Monday afternoon."

Yue walked out of the house, overwhelmed by everything she had seen that day. She felt giddy, and couldn't wipe the smile off of her face. "I guess if I want something bad enough…" she did a little twirl on the sidewalk and bumped into someone.

"Look Kaoru, a stray got lost in our neighborhood."

Yue stepped back to see three boys looking at her; a pair of ginger haired twins and a petite brunette. She blushed.

The other twin, she assumed it was Kaoru considering that was what the first had said, grinned. "The commoner neighborhoods are that way."

"Hikaru, Kaoru, stop it." The brunette said. Yue couldn't help but notice how irritated he looked and wondered if that was the twins' doing. He eyed Yue warily, "You'd be smart to get out of here while you can."

Yue nodded. "Sorry about bumping into you."

One twin (she couldn't tell anymore, they had moved) rolled his eyes, "Just don't do it again."

Yue nodded again and ran down the street in the direction of her house.

_My first meeting with Hikaru and Kaoru should have been taken as an omen. They were rude, mean, and considering the brunette's (who's name I learned later; it's Haruhi) attitude, they probably weren't even nice to their friends. But, I didn't take it as an omen. It didn't even occur to me who they were until I told my parents the news about working for Yuzuha-san. They had asked if she was the mother of Hitachiin Hikaru and Hitachiin Kaoru. Then I realized who exactly I had run into and was overwhelmed with embarrassment. _

_Wonderful first impression._

**A/N: New story alert! *high five* I'm trying a different kind of writing style. Hopefully it works ok. And…yeah. New story. **

**:D So…hit? Miss? I hope it's an okay introductory chapter.**


	2. April Part 2

**Chapter 2: April (Part 2)**

_Naturally, when I told Ayaka I had gotten the job, she hadn't taken it so well. I didn't really understand why she couldn't be happier for me because now I could continue going to school with her. Although, my parents were happy for me. They said they were "sad" and "reluctant" to let me live in another home, but I could tell they were happy they could save a bit of money in food and electric bills. And I was more than happy to be out of the house for awhile. My brother was a bit reluctant to see me leave, but he got over it quickly…especially since I'd promised to still be dropping by every morning to give him his homemade lunch. _

_In other words, I had planned for my life to remain the same as it was before._

"So, this is the last time I'm ever going to see my best friend. Ever."

Ayaka had decided to walk with Yue to the Hitachiin estate for her first day. They could just see the roof from up ahead. Yue felt a little excited about her first day at work, and her soft skipping made a cheery _click clack _sound on the sidewalk, her sailor skirt swaying with every small move she made. However, Ayaka's steps were more like pulling blocks of lead as she trudged down the street.

Yue shoved Ayaka's shoulder. "Shut up. We'll see each other everyday. I still go to school you know."

"But I won't be able to walk over to your house anymore! We'll never get to have sleepovers or pull all nighters when we don't do our homework!"

Yue giggled slightly. "We'll just walk to the street that breaks off the two neighborhoods. And you can visit me if you give me a head's up. And we'll still be pulling all nighters…just…over IM."

Ayaka stuck her tongue out. "Not the same."

The two girls fell into silence as the walked the last block. When they came to the iron gates, Ayaka stood, dumbfounded. Yue rang the bell and stepped back.

"Yeah, I felt the same way."

"Their house is huge! It isn't even a house…this place is a freaking mansion! Are you going to be cleaning that entire thing!"

Yue laughed. "Nope. Just a few rooms on the second floor."

Hideki appeared at the gate, "Ah, Sato-san. Your uniform has been prepared and is sitting in your room along with your luggage and a list of chores to be finished by this evening." He turned to Ayaka, "Good afternoon miss."

Ayaka only nodded, "So…I guess…I'll see you tomorrow Yue."

Yue nodded, "Bright and early." She gave her friend an awkward hug and turned back to Hideki, who was already walking indoors. "H-hey! Wait up!"

_I had expected the uniform to be like the clothes I had seen hung in the closet previously. Unfortunately, I had underestimated the powers of Yuzuha Hitachiin (and, more than likely, her two sons)._

"…this is my uniform?" Yue exclaimed, holding up a French maid outfit. She wouldn't have minded if it had stopped there, but this maid's outfit was…specially designed. The top portion of the outfit had a steep neckline which Yue knew immediately wasn't going to show very much as far as she was concerned. The bottom part of the outfit had a skirt that poofed slightly, black lace peeking out from underneath. The skirt stopped just above her upper thigh and led into fish net stockings. The apron was already sewn onto the outfit and Yue could tell that it would sit on her waist a little too snugly. "I think somebody was feeling perverted when they made this thing."

Yue tossed the outfit on to the bed and started rummaging through the closet for something more cleaning appropriate (because really, she wondered, how was she supposed to clean ANYTHING looking like that?), and found…three outfits that looked scarily similar to the first. She groaned. "Well, damn." She sat on the bed, maid's outfits surrounding her, when a knock rang throughout the room.

"Yue-chan?"

It was Yuzuha-san. Yue leapt up and answered the door, a frown on her face.

"What's wrong Yue-chan?"

Yue held up the maid's outfit. "Not to be rude, Yuzuha-san, but I don't think I'll be very comfortable cleaning in this."

Yuzuha chuckled and grabbed the maid's outfit, giving it a once over. "They're getting better at sewing, I'll give them that." She folded the outfit and stuffed it under her arm, "You'll have to forgive my sons; this is a stunt that they play with their new maids. I did tell you that this wasn't going to be an easy job. If you have older clothes, you may work in them today. I'll get you something new to wear tomorrow, alright, Yue?"

Yue nodded and turned back to her new room when a thought occurred to her. "Um…Yuzuha-san?"

Yuzuha stopped in her tracks and turned, a smile still on her lips. "Yes, Yue?"

Yue swallowed, suddenly hesitating to ask the question that had come to mind. She shook her head slightly. "Why did you hire me so suddenly?"

Yuzuha blinked, her smile slipping slightly. She quickly recomposed herself and said, "We've been a little short on staff lately. It's nothing to worry about. We just needed a few extra maids around the house. Now…get to work! If I know my sons, that maid's outfit isn't even the worst of what's to come."

And with that, Yuzuha hurried down the hall, not looking back at her new employee.

_Isn't even the worst. It's a funny little statement that more or less describes my first month at the Hitachiin's. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's stick with my first day, shall we? Isn't even the worst. That was the maid's outfit. Later that day I discovered that the twins had, more or less, destroyed their bedrooms, game rooms, bathrooms, etcetera. And I had a feeling that they did it on purpose. I could slowly feel myself hating them more and more as the day wore on…and I hadn't even properly met them yet. I had learned later that they were part of a "host club" (which doesn't sound all that appealing to me…I mean, why be teased with what you can never have?) which prevented them from getting home until six or sometimes seven o'clock. Yuzuha-san said I would have to meet them for dinner (they liked "interviewing" new maids) and that I would need to look presentable. And evidentially, even when sitting there as an interviewee, I'd still have to cater to their every whim._

_Lovely._

Yue was caked with dirt, sweat, and grime. She had managed to clean the twins' bedrooms (which were more like pigsties in her opinion) in a little under three hours. For her, it was a new record. But now that it was six thirty, she realized that she had a dinner to attend. So, she decided to quickly jump into the shower and then look for something that was…well, halfway decent (these were, after all, sons of a fashion designer. Yue knew that her own clothes wouldn't suffice, but it wouldn't hurt to put on her best outfit).

"Yue-san, the twins are ready for you." Hideki had called from the other side of her door.

"Ok Hideki-san!" Yue called back. She ran a brush through her bangs one last time before getting up and walking downstairs.

And when she finally reached the dining room (which was grand, the table had enough places for thirty people to sit comfortably, the plates were made of the finest china Yue had ever seen in her life, the windows were paned with stained glass, the walls were painted a beautiful pale cream color, and it looked like the chandeliers that hang from the ceiling were made of crystal…but Yue realized that she couldn't stare around the room for too long, beautiful as it was) she noticed the two identical redheads from a few days previous. They were sitting across the table, their chairs pushed to what Yue perceived as being "too close for comfort."

Although, seeing the twins up close, Yue noticed just how…pretty they were. Perfect pale skin, golden-honey toned eyes that seemed to sparkle no matter what angle they sat at, their messy, yet intricately placed (Yue could smell the hairspray) ginger hair, and their slender figures…they made Yue's heart skip a beat. If only…but she quickly squashed that dream when the twin on her right started speaking.

"It's _you_."

Ouch. "My name is Sato Yue, but you may call me Yue or Yue-chan."

The twin on the right sneered. "Yue doesn't sound very Japanese. What are you exactly, a poser? A fake? A thief of nationality?"

"I'm a quarter Chinese on my mother's side. She named me Yue after the moon. May I sit down?"

"You're very forward for a _servant_." The twin on the right continued to speak. Yue wondered halfheartedly which one it was, and was hoping that the twin on her left would be nicer. Even just a little bit. She decided to sit down without their consent.

"It's very impolite for one to give their name and not have one given in return." Yue chided. She knew she was walking a fine line with the twin on the right already, but perhaps the twin on the left would give her his name and she could remember which twin was meaner.

The twin on the left scoffed. "You mean you don't already know who we are?"

Yue sighed. It was too much to hope that the other would be any kinder. "You are Hitachiin Hikaru and Hitachiin Kaoru, but I do not know which is which. I would rather not have to refer to you as twin on my left and twin on my right."

It pained Yue to speak so formally and so stoically. If they had been "normal" and she had met them on, say, a subway, she'd already be yelling at them for rude manners. And one twin would definitely be sporting a shiner.

The twins looked at each other and shrugged.

"Hitachiin Kaoru." Said the one on the left.

"Hitachiin Hikaru." Said the one on the right.

Yue smiled, happy to have gotten names. Now she was just going to have to remember them for that evening. Kaoru on left. Hikaru on right. "Well, is there anything you wanted to ask me?"

"Not so much ask…" Hikaru started.

"As much as tell." Kaoru finished.

"We've already decided that you aren't going to last more than a month here!" They said together, sticking their tongues out. Very mature.

Yue raised an eyebrow. "You mean, you'll fire me after only a month's of work?"

"Oh no," Kaoru said.

"We don't have the power to fire our maids." Hikaru continued.

"But we do have the power to run them out." Kaoru finished, this time with a grin that even the devil himself would have feared.

"You see Yue," they said together, "we've never had a maid that lasted more than two months here. And you won't even last _that _long."

Yue felt insulted. She tried to remind herself to keep calm, that they were only saying those words to spite her. But she couldn't help it; competition brought out the worst in her and those twins' words screamed competition. So, she twisted her mouth into a grin of her own and said, "Game on."

_The rest of the dinner was spent in an awkwardly tense silence. I had a feeling that those twins were more capable of things than they really let on, and to be completely honest, they scared me. This was, after all, their house and I was only (in their minds anyways) an annoying visitor. Luckily for me, the staff met up every Monday evening, from ten to eleven, right before bed. While their usual activities included playing cards and gossiping, they decided that they each wanted their own revenge on the twins. And so I realized I had something the twins didn't…allies._

"You know, it really sucks that you got stuck with the twin terrors." Ami, one of the chefs, said, dealing the cards around the poker table.

"Yeah, we all feel for you." Taro said, sorrowfully placing one of his hands on my arm. "Those two have had it out for all of us since the day they were born."

"So why don't you quit?" Yue asked, looking at her own hand. "This hand sucks, who cut the cards?"

There was a stifled laugh. "Sorry, that was me." Yumi said. Yumi was another maid, but she worked with Yuzuha-san directly. "But if it's any consultation, my hand is just as bad."

"The reason we don't quit," Ami started, picking up a card, "is because we all love Yuzuha-san too much. She's really a fantastic boss who not only pays well, but she gives us lots of benefits like free clothes, free lodging, and lots of days off. Plus, she has a great personality. I really don't know how the twins are such a pain…these are crap cards Yumi! You suck at cutting."

"You shuffled them!" Yumi retorted childishly.

"It's all about how they're cut though." Taro put in, "The whole deck is decided on how it's cut."

"Hey, where's Hideki?"

Ami snorted. "Probably flirting with Yuzuha-san."

"I thought she was married."

Ami shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Hideki is madly in love with her anyways. We all tease him about it. I think it'd be hilarious if him and Hitachiin-san got into a fight over Yuzuha-san."

"Maybe that's where the twins get their bad genes from…their dad." Yue said with a shrug of her own.

"Not possible." Taro said, throwing a few chips into the pile, "Hitachiin-san, that's what everyone calls him, don't make the mistake of calling him by his first name, anyways, he's got this terrible sense of dry humor and is unusually reserved…but from the few times any of us has talked to him, he seemed pretty nice."

"He works with computers." Yumi added, "And Taro's right, he is unusually reserved…but so were the twins for a long time."

Ami nodded, "Oh yeah, that's right." she turned to Yue, "If you think they're bad now, you're lucky you didn't need this job two years ago." She contemplated her cards before shrugging, "I fold."

Yue's curiosity got the better of her. "Why? What was wrong with them two years ago?"

Taro snorted. "What wasn't wrong with the two years ago? Or three years or even four years? They've been known as the twin terrors since they were three. Always crying and whining for things. They're spoilt rotten and haven't really gotten any better…unless the host club is over. Then they're nice."

"Host club?"

The three other servants glanced at each other before reciting, in perfect unison, "Where beautiful gentlemen with way too much time on their hands entertain beautiful ladies who _also_ have way too much time on their hands."

"…entertain?" Yue's face went about three shades paler.

Yumi giggled. "It's nothing sexual really. They mostly flirt and do acts. The twins are famous for their forbidden brotherly love…I fold."

"Brotherly love?"

Ami nodded, "Yeah. Do you know how many girls we get coming around here asking us if they…you know…_do_ it?"

"_Do they_!"

Taro howled with laughter. "No. At least, we don't _think_ they do anyways. But we're all on different floors so the only ones who would ever know for sure is their maid. Unfortunately, they never stuck around long enough to be able to tell us for sure." He suddenly grinned. "Although with you, who knows…by the way, I raise you ten."

Yue complied by adding ten more chips. "They said I wouldn't even last a month."

"Nah…I give you a month and a half."

"Taro! Don't scare the girl." Ami said, hitting Taro upside the head. "Listen, don't take that statement personally. It's just…no maid has really lasted more than two months."

"Yeah, the twins told me." Yue said, "But I want to prove them wrong, just so I can say that I did." She looked up at Taro, "Want to show me your hand?"

"Sure thing." Taro said, laying his cards out, "Straight flush. Thanks for cutting me a great hand Yumi."

Ami scoffed. "I swear, you cheat. It's okay Yue, nobody can-"

"Royal flush."

"Hey! You said your hand sucked!" Taro yelled, glaring at the newcomer.

Yue shrugged. "Competition brings out the worst in me. I aim to win, even if that means I play a little dirty."

Ami held Yue's hand up, "And we have a new champion! Put your hands together for Yue, the rockinest poker player of Japan."

Taro waved his hand. "Fluke I tell you. It won't happen again."

Yumi rolled her eyes, "Just accept defeat you dolt." She turned to Yue, "Great job Yue. If you can play cards with the best of us…well, then let me be the first to say, welcome to the family."

Yue beamed. "Thanks. But I really don't know how I'm going to survive this job if it's as bad as everyone says."

Yumi exchanged a glance with Taro before saying, "Well…I guess we could help you."

"Help?"

Taro nodded. "We've been around for a couple years, so we know how the twins' system works. We don't mind giving you a head's up for the tricks they pull…we might even help you pull some of your own if you can think of a way to get the best of them."

Yue's face brightened. "Really? You guys will help me?"

Ami smiled. "Most of the maids the twins get are big headed, arrogant, and think that they can tame Hikaru and Kaoru on their own," she snorted, "but you…you're different. You even said it yourself you didn't know how long you could last. So…yeah, we'll help."

_And my first day in the Hitachiin estate immediately got better because I had some new friends. And now that I had a game plan, I knew exactly how to take the twins down. More or less. I was leaning towards less. They still terrified me. _

**A/N: Another chapter done ^_^ By the way, if you guys like this story you should check out the anime Kaichou wa Maid sama. It's what inspired me to write this! Oh, and I forgot to mention this in chapter 1, so I'll say it now: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. I also don't own any anime/manga/book/song/show I may or may not reference to in future chapters. Thank you, that is all :D**


	3. April Part 3

**I apologize for taking forever to get this out! School started and I swear I'm dying. -_- So anyways, here's the extremely overdue chapter 3.**

**Chapter 3: April (Part 3)**

"_The first week keep on your toes with the cleaning because they'll make a mess out of everything everywhere." _

_That's what Ami told me at the meeting, and I was a bit anxious considering the big mess that was left for me on my first day. However, I didn't think too much of it, thinking (hoping) that she was just exaggerating. That was my first mistake. "Mess" didn't even begin to describe the state of their room when I had come home from school that day._

Yue stared at what was in front of her. Markings all over the wall, clothes strewn all over the floor, unmade beds, plates with rotten food and glasses that contained what looked liked spoilt milk sat on the desks and windowsills, and there was a pungent smell coming from…somewhere, but Yue couldn't quite place where it was from exactly.

"How…when…I just cleaned this place!" Yue cried out. "Jerks…"

Yue started grabbing the clothes from the floor, crinkling her nose when she found out that they were stiff as cardboard. She placed them in a laundry basket, mentally reminding herself to use extra fabric softener. When Yue could see the floor, she moved to the bed and started straightening out the disgruntled sheets. "…Crumbs? And what is…" Yue reached a hand out to touch the sticky substance, gathering some in her hand and sniffing it cautiously, "maple syrup?" She winced and pulled the sheets off the bed, wiping her sticky hands on a clean spot. She threw the sheets on top of the clothes.

Yue walked to the linen closet down the hall. "Time to find new sheets…" she glanced around the cupboard when her eyes caught something. "Oh?"

She pulled out the set and snorted. "Didn't realize the twins would be Pokemon fans." She tucked the set under her arm, "Guess Hikaru is going to have to settle for Ash and Pikachu bed sheets." She continued to rummage through the closet before coming across a set featuring Astro Boy. "And Kaoru will deal with Astro and Doctor Tenma." Yue beamed, "That will show them."

Yue hummed as she scrubbed down the walls in Hikaru's room. She was reminded slightly of her brother. He always drew on the walls in their room, although he was a much better artist than both Hikaru and Kaoru combined. Yue smiled slightly at the memory of her brother looking up at her innocently, black crayon in his hand. Yue had scolded him because that's what her job was as a big sister, but she thought that it had added character to the room.

Unfortunately, Hikaru was not cute, little, or innocent, and therefore his trashed walls neither added character to the room, nor did they make Yue feel more at home. Rather, the marked walls added to the seemingly endless pit of fiery energy that Yue possessed while cleaning the poorly cared for room.

After all the scrubbing, vacuuming, dusting, and polishing had been done, Yue breathed a sigh of relief and checked her watch, unhappily confirming that she had another forty-five minutes before the boys came home. She walked across the hall to Kaoru's room (his new bed sheets under her arm) and opened the door cautiously, afraid of what she would find.

Yue's eyes flicked around the room, detecting only a small layer of dust covering the shelves she had missed the day previous. She raised an eyebrow and walked around the room, wondering if she would step on a trigger to cause a chaotic mess.

But, lying on Kaoru's bed was a note addressed to the maid in question.

_Dear New Maid, _(Yue narrowed her eyes; the least they could do was remember her name, she thought)

_We decided that since you probably won't finish cleaning Hikaru's room, we'd need a place to sleep. So we left this room clean. Now get out._

Yue crumpled the note in her hand, her face heating up in anger. They had underestimated her! She threw the note at the waste basket, only to have it bounce off the rim and on to the floor. She sighed and walked over to pick up the piece of paper.

"Hmm? A height chart?"

Yue looked at the gashes made in the wall. A carving of the twins' height and age starting from when they were three trailed up the frame of the doorway. Yue smiled and let her fingers trail up the wall, when she came to the year they had turned thirteen she stopped. She squinted her eyes and looked at the wall. There were two markings from when they were thirteen. A tiny 'K' was printed by the slightly taller mark.

"So, Kaoru was just a little bit taller in middle school, huh? Interesting. I wonder if he's the older twin…"

Yue stood up and threw the note away. She quickly dusted the rest of Kaoru's room, picked up her cleaning supplies, and left.

"So, all that's left is the game room and then I can eat…"

_But when I had opened that room, it was in the same condition it was the day before, although this time there was no note. I felt both relieved and worried when I saw the state of the room. The twins certainly weren't trying to cut me a break, but if that was true, why had the room been so clean?_

_This system of one messy room and two clean ones continued for three days, and soon I had gained a rhythm so all my energy wouldn't be drained. After the third day though, two of the three rooms were destroyed. That's when I caught on. They wanted to surprise me by changing their pattern. Unfortunately for them, I had gotten good at cleaning quickly and my actions were automatic. By the end of the week all three rooms would be in a horrendous state, yet I'd clean them before the twins even set foot in the mansion._

_I wondered by the end of the week how long they would keep it up. It was tiring to have to destroy the rooms everyday, and they were probably growing bored since it wouldn't faze me._

"_The next week or so they'll ask for favors. Trust us when we say don't question it."_

"Get a case of Ramune!"

"No! Not strawberry, we asked for pineapple!"

"Never mind, we're not thirsty anymore. Go get two bottles of maple syrup."

"Aww, this is the wrong brand! What kind of maid are you."

"I know what you could do. Why don't you entertain us for awhile?"

Yue was panting and could feel a vein pop. She had been running errands for the twins all day because they would "accidentally forget" to ask for something, making her return to the store to get it. Except when she'd get back, they'd say to take it back or they'd ask for something else.

Still, she grit her teeth. "How exactly do you want to be entertained?"

"Look Kaoru, our maid has a bit of a temper."

"You're right Hikaru, perhaps she should be punished."

Yue stepped backwards, not liking the looks on their faces (not that she ever did, but they were looking particularly malicious today). She clenched her teeth and managed to say, "Forgive me, I was out of line."

"You got that right." Hikaru spat, resting his feet on the chair in front of him. "Fine then…why don't you go make me something to eat. At least then you'll be useful."

"And what do you want?"

Hikaru looked up at Yue and snorted. "Something I'd like."

Yue, upset with the vague answer, looked at Kaoru. "And for you Kaoru?"

"Don't address me so casually. It's Master Kaoru or Kaoru-san."

"Right, forgive me. Kaoru-san, what would you like?"

"Whatever Hikaru got."

And with those vague answers, Yue begrudgingly trudged to the kitchen. She walked over to Ami with a scowl on her face.

"Oh, the twins must be hungry."

Yue nodded.

"And they didn't tell you what the wanted, did they?"

Yue shook her head.

Ami rolled her eyes and grabbed a book titled "Twins' Favorites" and started flipping through it. Yue took a look at the pages that were passing and found a very common theme with all the foods in the book.

"They like spicy food."

Ami nodded. "Ok…I think this will do. It's one of their favorites…next to maple syrup."

The recipe Ami was pointing at was a spice cake. Yue tilted her head, "Won't that take awhile to make?"

Ami shook her head. "Not at all. We've discovered how to make it pretty quickly. Would you like to help?"

Yue nodded. Anything to keep her away from Hikaru and Kaoru's room. She followed Ami into the pantry and helped hold flour, sugar, and several spices. As Ami left, Yue looked at the other spices on the shelf and impulsively grabbed pumpkin spice before following Ami.

Ami whipped up the batter in two minutes flat before pouring it into a pan. "Could you carry this to the oven?"

Yue nodded, and then pulled out the pumpkin spice. She quickly poured it into the batter and stirred it. She smiled and placed the cake in the oven.

Ten minutes later, the cake was sliced and placed on two different plates. "Now, make sure they don't get anymore than this." Ami warned. "They still have a dinner to eat in a about two hours."

Yue nodded to show that she understood, and carried the cake upstairs.

"This is what you bring us?"

"Did you make it?"

Yue felt slightly insulted. "I helped."

"Tch. I bet it's poisoned, eh Kaoru?"

Kaoru only stared at his cake before placing it on the side table. "I'm not hungry."

Yue felt her face heat up, "Work went into that cake! You can't be that rude! You have to eat it! If you don't you'll be wasting-"

"I don't recall asking for your opinion."

Yue sharply took in a breath. "Fine then. I'll be leaving unless you need anything else." When there was no answer, Yue turned on her heel and left the room.

However, when she was no more than two steps away from the door she heard one of the twins say, "This is one of the best spice cakes I've had in awhile."

"She used too much pumpkin."

"Kaoru, you love pumpkin."

"Do we tell her?"

"Not even if our lives depended on it. If she found out…never mind. Just finish your cake and then I'll destroy you at Guitar Hero."

_I didn't know what to do. The comment about the cake had been the nicest thing I had ever heard uttered from their mouths. I felt proud that I had at least taken a tiny step towards them liking me. _

_They continued the week as normal though, as though they only took a bite of the spice cake (and later they denied eating it at all, even though I was the one to take the empty plates downstairs)._

_It would be two weeks until I finished the challenge. Taro told me the third week was the hardest to handle. When I asked why, he had no answer. He just said that the majority of the maids quit the third week._

"_Well," I told him, "let them hit me with their best shot."_

It was past dinner time and Yue walked silently through the halls, trying to make as little noise as possible. She was on guard and had been feeling apprehensive all day. The twins were being abnormally quiet since they returned home, and it was driving Yue crazy.

_Almost to my room…then I can-_

"Hikaruuu?"

Yue stopped walking. Had she heard Kaoru whining? She shook her head, feeling silly. They were just getting into her head, nothing more.

"Hikaru, you know we can't!"

Yue turned her head towards Hikaru's door. They were most definitely in there. She stood outside the door awkwardly, her curiosity besting her. She pressed her ear against the wood, wondering what was going on.

"But Kaoru, I don't think I could love anyone else but you."

"Hikaru…"

"Kaoru, please be mine."

Yue's face burned with embarrassment. She had listened in on a private moment and felt horrible for intruding. But then again, they were related. She felt it to be some sort of duty to stop them from taking it further.

"Nnggh…"

Yue's face turned a brighter shade of red as she opened the door, "What are you doing!" She looked inside the room and found that the twins were not only fully dressed, but they were on opposite sides of the room, each holding a packet of paper.

One twin gave her a sly grin, "We were just going over our lines Yue-chan."

The other gave a mischievous smirk, "What did you think we were doing Yue?"

"I…I…"

"You were pretty quick to open the door. Were you expecting to see something?"

"Are you a pervert Yue?" One twin began advancing on her.

"Because you know, if that's what you're into…" the other followed suit, leading her into a corner.

"We'd be more than happy to fulfill your desires…"

Yue felt trapped. She was pinned against the wall and the twins were dangerously close to her. She could feel her face heating up and her heartbeat pounding so hard she thought it would explode.

She swallowed, "N-n-no. Th-that's n-n-n-not…"

One twin stroked her chin. "Are we making you uncomfortable Yue?"

Yue could no longer speak, so she settled for a nod.

The twins each gave her a wicked grin before pulling back. "Looks we found her weakness Kaoru."

Yue felt tears in the corners of her eyes. "Excuse me." She turned and ran out of the room.

_I had never felt so embarrassed in my life. I knew it was their way of getting me to leave, but I still felt horrible. The way they had so easily made me nervous terrified me. The things they could do, simply because I was too weak to tell them to leave me alone._

_But I had just under two weeks until the month was over. If I accomplished that much, they'd leave me alone. So, I resolved to not let them get under my skin. After all, what's the worse that could happen?_

**A/N: Ok, so the main reason this chapter was made was for time skipping. Next chapter we enter the beginnings of May (hooray, finally). And then things will start moving along.**

**Please review ^^**


	4. May Part 1

**Chapter 4: May (Part 1)**

_The last two weeks were probably the most painful I would ever have to endure, but now that I was entering May, I noticed the twins weren't nearly as devilish or as cruel as before. I thought it was because they realized that I wasn't going anytime soon…or maybe they grew bored with me and found a new victim to torment. Either way, it was nice not being called for every five minutes and having to clean whatever disaster they had caused. However…I also learned to never let my guard down since just because they didn't torture me as much, it didn't mean they were going to stop completely. _

Beep…beep…beep…

Yue clamped her hand down around her alarm clock, which read in blazingly bright red numbers 4:05 am. Her hand fell from the clock to the side of the bed. With a groggy yawn, she stretched and managed to force herself out of bed.

It was Monday morning. Normally, waking at four am on Monday wasn't such a good idea, but for Yue it was routine. She enjoyed the early hours before anyone else was awake to sweep and polish the second floor hallway. A clean hallway to start her week was always self-satisfying, and Yue was willing to get up a little early to do it.

After getting dressed, Yue grabbed a few buckets of water and her mop, ready to work. She hummed absentmindedly to herself as she scrubbed the floor until she could see her reflection. Yue gave her image a grin as she pulled her hair back and began tidying up the rest of the hallway by placing flowers in vases and straightening picture frames.

"There. That should do it for another week."

Tired, Yue glanced at her watch, noticing that it was only 6:30 and therefore had time for a power nap before getting ready for school. She stretched again and walked to her room, throwing open the door and collapsing on her bed. She grabbed her pillow and began to cuddle with it, burying her face and hiding herself under the covers.

Yue, tired as she was, hadn't noticed that the light to the bathroom was on. Nor did she realize that the shower had been running since she walked in. She was nearly asleep when the door to the bathroom finally creaked open, and a set of footprints made their way to her.

"Oi! Maid! What do you think you're doing here!"

Startled awake, Yue rubbed her eyes gently and looked up at the red head. "Oh, master Hitachiin, what is it that you need?"

Dryly, the twin replied, "Well, you can stop cuddling with my pillow for starters."

"What do you mean your-" Yue cut herself off. She glanced around the room, noticing several posters and electronics she hadn't noticed before. Her face began to heat up and she could feel her cheeks reddening. "Master Hitachiin, please forgive me. I was tired this morning and I-"

"Save it."

Yue was surprised at his abruptness. She closed her mouth and started to move off of the bed when she noticed that the twin, whoever he was, had just come out of the shower and was wearing nothing more than a pair of boxers. She quickly looked away, but to no avail. He had noticed. "Oh I see."

"See what?"

His mouth formed a wicked grin. "You really are a pervert. Coming in here in the early morning just to take a look at me."

"D-d-don't flatter yourself."

"You're stammering. Are you embarrassed Yue?"

She was, but she would never give him the satisfaction of telling him that. "Like hell I am."

"You don't have to be shy. I'm sure whatever desire you have I'd be happy to oblige."

Yue's face darkened to a shade of scarlet. "And you call me the pervert."

The twin merely shrugged. "If the shoe fits."

Yue looked up from the floor and straight into his eyes. She gave him a narrow glare and turned around to save what was left of her pride. Unfortunately, he grabbed her hands, preventing her leave. "Wh…what are you doing?" Yue asked, turning around, a shocked expression on her face.

Not replying, he shoved Yue back into the bed with force, pinning her arms down and climbing on top of her. Water from his hair dripped on to Yue's face, making her heart race more.

"S-stop."

"Stop what?" he asked smugly.

"Y-y-you know p-perfectly well what!"

"You shouldn't talk to your master that way." his grip on her wrists tightened, making Yue wince.

"Sh-shut up."

"You're stammering again. Pity. I thought you'd make for a fun toy. I suppose I was wrong. Still, you are here. I might as well play while I have the chance."

Yue trembled. She didn't like the way that sounded coming from his mouth. She had known the twins to hold a perverted and wicked sense of humor, but she assumed it was all talk. In this situation, she didn't know if she could call him on a bluff.

"S-st-stop it!"

"No."

"L-l-let g-go of m-m-me!"

"Beg."

Yue felt weak and pathetic. She felt like her humanity had been reduced to that of a dog. Her whole existence was that of a dog. Summoning up every last ounce of pride she held left, she gave it to the twin. "P-p-please st-stop."

His grin grew wider, as though achieving something important. But before he could form a reply, a slight whining voice came from the hallway, "Hikaru! Come on! We're going to be late if you take any longer!"

"In a minute Kaoru!" Hikaru called to his twin. Looking back down at Yue he smirked, "I guess we'll have to play again some other time Yue-chan."

He leapt to the floor and pulled on his school uniform, rushing to the door to meet with his brother. Yue lay there forgotten on the bed, heart pounding and head reeling.

_After what happened with Hikaru I was ready to go up to Yuzuha's office and quit. But I realized what a burden that would be on my parents…I also realized that would give Hikaru the satisfaction of driving me out and I wasn't willing to sink to that level. So, after I regained all functionality I got ready for school and got there just as the class started. _

_During break, several of my friends told me I looked feverish and asked if I was ok. None of them knew of my situation with the Hitachiin family and I wasn't planning on telling them now. So I simply said there were problems going on at home. Most knew of our money situation and bought the excuse…well, all except for Ayaka. She knew that I was flat out lying but didn't call me on it. Although the look on her face let me know that I was in for a long lecture in my near future. _

"So what happened?"

"Nothing."

Ayaka raised an eyebrow. "Nothing? Oh really now?"

Yue's lips tightened and she looked away from her friend. "Look, I have to get back to work."

"You said you had home problems. The Hitachiin mansion is your home now. What went on? What did they do to you?"

"…they didn't do anything." Yue paused for a moment, focusing all her attention on the sidewalk. "Hikaru did." she mumbled.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, him, them! It's all the same. They might as well be the same person. So what did he do to you? And don't lie to me Yue!"

Yue winced. It wasn't often Ayaka yelled at her. She knew it was simply out of a need of protection but…still. "It's nothing, I promise."

Ayaka stopped walking and hardened her look. "What good is having a best friend who lies?"

"Stop trying to guilt trip me into telling you things! Look, what happened isn't that big of a deal!"

"So then why won't you just suck it up and TELL ME!"

Both girls were silent. Yue trembled slightly under Ayaka's hard gaze. With a small whisper, she managed, "He…he…let's just say I feared for my virginity this morning, okay! Are you happy now!" Turning on her heel, she stormed towards the mansion, ignoring Ayaka's incredulous stare.

"Wait! Yue!" Ayaka's tone was calmer and gentler than before, so Yue didn't hesitate to turn around. "You mean he…tried to…"

A slight blush formed on Yue's face. "I'm pretty sure he was just trying to scare me like he always does. He's all talk and no action…I would've been fine."

"You say that so calmly Yue."

"What can I do?"

"Take my advice and quit. It's not worth it to stay there Yue! You work yourself to exhaustion, get beaten and insulted on a daily basis, your self esteem and heath are at risk, and honestly, those boys are unstable! You never know. Next time one is 'all talk and no action' you might really get hurt."

"…stop it Ayaka. I have no choice."

Ayaka frowned and looked at the ground. The two girls were quiet the rest of the way to the Hitachiin manor. Once they arrived, Ayaka's frown deepened. "You can't expect me to let you in there alone, can you?"

Yue pulled out a key, "Twins aren't home yet."

"But…"

"Ayaka. I know you're looking out for me but…trust me, if it gets to be too much I will quit. I promise. But…right now it's nothing I can't handle."

"If you say so."

Yue smiled, "That's the spirit. I'll see you later, alright?" She wrapped her arms around Ayaka. "I'll be fine. I promise."

Ayaka, returning the hug, said, "That's one promise you better keep."

_After convincing Ayaka that I was okay, I certainly felt better. Still, my plan was to avoid the twins at all costs. At least for a little while anyways. My pride could only take so much in one day._

_Fortunately and unfortunately, it was almost break time. This meant I wouldn't have to worry about balancing school and work, but it also meant that the twins would be at home more often. And that meant I had a greater chance of running into them, it made me wary. That evening though, I discussed my worries with the fellow staff._

"So, who's ready to lose tonight?"

"May I remind you Taro, that Yue has been beating you every week since she got here?"

Taro waved his hand, "Flukes, all of 'em. That, or she cheats."

Yumi giggled, "Yeah, Yue looks like a real cheater, don't she Ami?"

Ami simply raised an eyebrow. "In any case, this week won't turn out any different than last week. Or the week before. Or the week before that one. Just accept your fate of being second best to a high school student."

Yue stifled a laugh, although she wasn't sure if she should feel flattered or insulted. She decided to keep quiet.

"Oh, hey Yue I meant to ask you this morning…" Ami started.

Yue, suddenly feeling sick, replied with a meek, "What?"

Ami's eyes shifted, "Well, I hope you don't mind me asking but…I heard Hikaru talking with his brother at breakfast this morning and…did something happen?"

Yumi's eyes widened and face paled, "Did…did he…?"

Taro gave here a serious look, "Hey, listen, if he did anything you don't feel is okay, leave it to us…or go to his parents. But I mean…Ami over there can spit in his food for you if need be."

"No, no. It's fine. He was just trying to scare me was all."

"But Yue!" Yumi said, "That just isn't right! I mean…he…he…" her face flushed, "he could have done a lot of bad things! That just isn't fair!"

Yue smiled slightly at Yumi's innocence. "It's okay Yumi. As I've already told my friend Ayaka, I'm sure it was all talk and no action…but still…I'm hoping to avoid him over break…which I don't think will be an easy task."

"Oh, you won't have to worry." Taro said offhandedly, already shuffling cards.

"The boys always go out somewhere during break, usually to a resort on a faraway beach or island. They'll stay out most of the time on vacation, so you won't have to worry about running into them that much."

Yue released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "Thank you Ami, you have no idea how relieved I feel."

With a smirk she replied, "Believe me, I do."

"So, how 'bout them cards?"

And with a laugh, Yue took her hand and continued her winning streak.

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out to you guys (well, if you still remember what this is even about xD). My computer was being stupid and corrupted the original chapter 4 file, so I had to rewrite it. I think this version is better and more detailed but…I don't know. **

**Anyways - happy belated Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanza and Happy New Year :D**

**Review?**


	5. May Part 2

**Chapter 5: May (Part 2)**

_They decided to stay home. I don't know what possessed them to stay home, but while eavesdropping in the halls I managed to overhear "stupid milord" and "commoner's house." I wasn't sure what to make of that, but it didn't matter because they were home. On vacation. My one opportunity for peace had been missed…and to top it all off, they seemed to be snarkier than usual…if that was possible. Evidently, missing their trip to the Bahamas made them upset, which in their eyes made it okay to throw a tantrum and take it out on me. _

_I hate vacations._

"Oi! Maid-chan!"

Yue held in a biting remark. They knew perfectly well what her name was, but absolutely refused to use it. It got under her skin how incredibly annoying and pestering they could be. But, even though she wanted to slap their faces off, she walked over to the pair of redheads and gave her best smile. "Yes, Mister and Mister Hitachiin? What humble service may I perform for you?"

"Get the foyer ready. We're having guests."

"Guests?" Yue was surprised, to say the least. The Hitachiin brothers rarely let their friends over. She wondered slightly if they would be any better than the twins, although the thought of anyone pleasant hanging out with the terrors seemed impossible…to say the least.

"What a pain she is today Hikaru…"

"Yes, guests. Did you not hear us the first time?" Hikaru asked, crossing his arms.

"Are you deaf as well as stupid?" Kaoru continued, mimicking Hikaru's movements.

Yue pursed her lips. Calling her out on her intelligence wasn't a new insult of theirs, but each time they said it, it stung a bit. She worked hard to be at the top of her class, but was always beat out by some spoilt brat who didn't have to balance both school and a job. But still, Yue kept her mouth shut.

"Right. I will begin right away." Yue bowed her head slightly before scurrying downstairs, duster in her hands. The twins didn't tell her how long she had before the guests were due to arrive, so she had to make haste and hurry.

Yue quickly dusted and vacuumed the halls, careful to get every corner. She wasn't usually so clean and precise, but she didn't want to be badmouthed by other prestigious families (she wasn't told explicitly that rich friends were visiting, but she had a feeling that Hikaru and Kaoru were not ones to associate themselves with the "commoner" social class). Right as she was about to gather her supplies and leave, the doorbell rang. Expecting Hideki to answer the door, she continued to the staircase, only to have the bell ring again.

"…Hideki?"

There was no answer, and no butler to be found. Yue sighed irritably. She didn't want to be noticed by more rich people who were probably exactly like the twins. Still, she couldn't

leave them standing out there. Sighing again, she walked to the door and answered.

"Welcome to the Hita-"

_I had to cut myself off. Standing in front of me were the most gorgeous boys I had ever laid eyes on. Did rich people always have to come so beautifully? I couldn't help but feel embarrassed over my attire (not that it mattered, even if I was in my nicest outfit it would still be like rags to them). And, regardless of the fact that I knew it wasn't my place as a servant to, I gave each boy a brief once over. _

_The tall blonde caught my eye the easiest. Flamboyant, egotistical, dramatic, and imposing were the first words I had thought of. His personality was practically emitting off of his skin it was so big. Still, as big and bright as it was, he had me flustered. Perfect milky skin, bright blue eyes, a thin (yet muscular) frame, and a slight accent to his Japanese (which I was able to catch when he spoke to me later). I had a feeling this guy got a lot of girls. Or at the very least, several admirers. _

_Managing to break my gaze with the blonde, I moved towards an even taller, much older looking boy. His broad shoulders and steely gray eyes intimidated me for a moment, but I noticed a slight smile tugging on the corners of his lips, and realized how calm his presence actually was. And, perched upon his shoulders was a much shorter blonde boy._

_This boy seemed to be the happiest of the bunch. His eyes were wide…almost too wide considering his Asian heritage. And he gripped both the neck of the taller teen and the hand of a stuffed pink rabbit. He reminded me a bit of my brother. Innocent and sweet, always the one to be protected. It made me sad a little bit to be reminded, but I bounced back once I saw his smile. _

_Then my eyes fell upon a short brunette who looked unhappy. I couldn't help but think he looked awfully familiar. I tried to rack my brain to remember where I had seen him before, but I couldn't remember the face…or the occasion where I'd even meet a rich person. I didn't associate with rich people before my job with the Hitachiins, and I didn't really associate with them now, not unless I caught a glimpse of them as they were heading upstairs to a meeting with Yuzuha-san. I figured I'd think of the familiarity later. At the moment, I was too caught up in the brunette's pretty brown eyes, a sudden spark of jealousy rising. I had brown eyes myself, but they were nothing like the one this boy had. It almost wasn't fair, since boys didn't need to be pretty but ended up getting eyes like those anyways. Sighing, I turned to the last boy of the group._

_He was looking at me. I felt almost as though he was measuring me up, my wealth, my status…my value. I had a feeling he didn't think too highly of me. And he just continued to scrutinize me, as though looking right into my head and seeing everything about me unfold before his eyes. The feeling of being read like an open book scared me. I tried to cast my own gaze away, but it was hard. Dark hair, dark eyes…glasses. I usually wasn't the type that went for guys in glasses but he pulled it off…_

_Suddenly, I stopped myself. I felt a wave of stupidity wash over me. I was placing these boys upon pedestals and they hadn't said a word to me. Being honest, I reminded myself how beautiful the twins were as well…until they opened their mouths. So, I simply stepped from the open door way and gave a small bow, welcoming them to the Hitachiin manor, knowing that my fantasies of ever hoping to be with them would remain just that. Fantasies. _

The tall blonde suddenly grabbed Yue's hand, pulling her from her bowing position, "Well, what's your name beautiful princess?"

Yue felt her cheeks redden as she realized that the blonde was both beautiful _and_ charming. "I…I…I'm no princess."

The blonde chuckled slightly, "All girls are princesses. So please, tell me your name?"

His sincere attitude made Yue grin. "Yue."

"Yue! What a pretty name! I'm Suoh Tamaki, but you probably already knew that." Yue didn't, but decided not to tell him. "You can call me Tamaki."

Yue bowed slightly, unsure of what to do. "Hello Tamaki. I'm honored to be in your presence."

The other hosts didn't get a chance to give their names, as Hikaru and Kaoru marched through the halls, meeting them at the door. "Hello baka king!"

"Hika-chan! Kao-chan!"

Yue watched as the little blonde hopped down from the shoulders of his companions and literally skipped over to the twins. "We brought cake!"

One twin chuckled, "That's great Honey-sempai!"

"Now, let's go play video games! It's this way!" The rest of the boys followed the twins upstairs to the game room, leaving Yue behind at the opened door, her eyes wide.

It was true that she knew the twins were different at school and with their friends, but they seemed so nice. And so normal. It was almost as though they weren't Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin at all. It unnerved Yue that they acted so calmly and kindly around their friends. She didn't feel as though it were fair.

Muttering to herself, she closed the door.

"You seem awfully surprised."

Jumping slightly, Yue turned to see the petite brunette. He slouched over one of the chairs and sighed, surprising Yue. Rich people didn't usually slouch. Then again, the brunette looked like he was wearing clothes from the outlet mall Yue visited over her weekends. Perhaps he wasn't as rich as she originally thought.

"What makes you say that?" Yue found herself asking. She didn't get a chance to talk to very many people besides Ayaka and the staff most days. She was simply too busy. It'd be refreshing to have a conversation with someone new.

The brunette shrugged. "You just seemed surprised with the twins."

"Oh…well…" Yue hesitated. She wanted to talk to someone about her problems but she didn't want to speak ill of her boss's children. It wouldn't look good.

"Hikaru and Kaoru are a bit rough around the edges, trust me I know. Usually they're manageable though. I suppose they must be different at home."

Yue blinked. "I wouldn't say that…exactly."

The brunette grinned. "Yes you would. Besides, I was there the day you came here the first time."

Yue thought back to her interview, and how she had seen three boys in uniform walking down the street. "Oh! That was you. I thought you looked familiar when I opened the door."

"Yeah, and I remember scolding them about that 'stray' comment too. Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't quit already. From what I hear, the maids who apply here don't last for very long."

"Uh…yeah, well, I'm trying to pay school tuition."

"Trust me, I understand. I got lucky when I applied for a scholarship at Ouran. You should try for one next year."

"Oh, I wish I could. But next year I'm off to University."

The brunette nodded. "Well, I wish you the best of luck then."

Yue nodded in return, "Thank you very much…erm…?"

"It's Haruhi."

"Haruhi…well, you better be getting back to your friends."

_Haruhi rolled his eyes and told me he didn't want to come in the first place. But, he reluctantly left to the game room where I heard faint crying noises (I'm pretty sure it was Tamaki's voice). I spent the rest of the day in my own room, reading a book and trying to catch up on studying. The peace was nice. The twins didn't call on me once (although, I overheard them insisting Haruhi do the cooking for them, being a "commoner" and all) so I decided to enjoy it while it lasted. I also decided that the twins' friends were too good for the twins. All of them seemed nice enough to me, and I couldn't see how the twins deserved their good company. Ah well. _

There was a loud bang on Yue's door. "Oi! Get out here!"

Yue rolled her eyes before getting up and walking to her door. She opened it, and standing in front of her were two clearly pissed off twins. Unamused, she considered slamming the door in their faces but thought against it and asked, "Anything you need Hitachiin-sans?"

"Don't talk to our friends again." One spat.

"Yeah, because of you, all Haruhi and Tamaki were concerned about was inviting you to join us. Like we would ever associate ourselves with our help."

Yue kept a neutral expression, despite the slight happiness that Haruhi and Tamaki wanted her around. "Well, you could have called for me."

The twins gave her a dirty look before turning around and leaving her at her door. Yue rolled her eyes again and before casting her gaze downward where she saw a DS pen on the floor. She picked it up and examined it. Blue. So it was Kaoru's DS this went with. Yue figured he dropped it when he came to yell at her.

"Better return it before the baby throws a fit."

She walked to Kaoru's room and knocked on the door quietly, hoping not to alert his brother she was visiting him (she already attracted too much attention from Hikaru and didn't want any more). But, Kaoru didn't answer. She knocked a second time, and wondered if they had gone to Hikaru's room. After waiting for another minute, Yue sighed and figured he wasn't in his room. She opened the door, only to collide into another body. Yue yelped and ahold of said body to keep from tripping, only resulting in pulling it down as well.

Yue hit the floor, but before the pain in her back or head could register, another body had fallen on top of her, successfully pinning her to the floor. Yue felt his crushing body weight and was about to tell whoever it was to get off of her, only to find out that she couldn't as her mouth was covered by another.

Yue opened her eyes and saw that the boy kissing her was, naturally, one of the twins. His eyes opened to meet hers and suddenly was on his feet, a light blush spread on his cheeks.

Yue chucked the pen at him, "Here's your damn pen. Don't be so careless."

The boy looked at the pen and gave her a shaky grin. "This is Kaoru's pen. I'm Hikaru. You got the wrong twin."

Yue scowled. She always managed to get the wrong twin. "Fine. Then give the pen to Kaoru and leave me the hell alone."

Yue got up and turned to walk away when she heard a playful, "Was that your first kiss Yue?"

Yue refused to answer the question as she slammed the door to her own room shut.

_I felt like I was trapped in some kind of shoujo manga…to be reduced to two completely overused clichés (the redundancy is necessary) in one evening. The falling into a kiss and the first kiss stolen by a jerk. I felt so hopeless. Not only that, but I had a sure fire feeling that it was Kaoru I had met (experience with Hikaru made me think he would dare to go farther. Much farther.) and he refused to tell me who he really was. Unless he was Hikaru just playing with me. They interchanged rooms and clothes so much it was hard to tell. _

_The rest of the quick break was taken up by the twins continuing to meet with fellow members of the host club. I finally managed to learn everyone's names and decided I liked Honey the best. He was cutest and managed to keep the twins in line (how someone of his stature and nature could do that was beyond me, I figured he must be some kind of super ninja to be able to that). The break also included me being constantly tormented by one twin always whispering, "Why don't you just kiss me? We've done it before you know."_

_Intimidation. They constantly intimidated me. _

_I wanted to take action and fight back somehow. I just…didn't quite have a plan yet. _

**Holy crap! Two chapters within a month XD. I am on a roll here. Actually, I just happen to have a lot of time this break. Hopefully I'll be able to move on to June within the next couple of days. Happy Early New Year everybody ^^ **


	6. June Part 1

**June (Part 1)**

_When I found out that the twins were going to be throwing a humungous party for their 16__th__ birthday, I just about killed myself. I knew they would be working me overtime, making sure that there would be no break for me while I was planning and setting up for them. They didn't even take the time to tell me about their party the month before. So, on the seventh of June, I found out I had two days to create an unforgettable party._

_Fan-freaking-tastic. _

Yue scuttled down the hallway, decorating as she went. The twins would not be satisfied with a normal party, it had to be the biggest party out of their friends, and the whole house must be decorated. She wiped her brow and pulled out the to-do list from her front pocket, checking off "place streamers in all hallways." Yue quickly ducked through the entrance to the kitchen, where she saw Ami frustratingly go through recipes.

"Those damn twins, always planning at the last minute. Why I oughta poison their whole cake…they'd deserve it…"

Yue took a seat by the counter, "How big do they want their cake?"

Ami set down her recipe box, "They want a sixteen layer spice cake, all to themselves, with maple syrup flavored frosting."

Yue wrinkled her nose. "Maple syrup?"

Ami nodded. "Those terrors love maple syrup, always have." She sifted through her recipes again, "I don't know why they insist on me cooking, and why they can't just import all their party food from some foreign country."

"Perhaps it's their way of saying how much they like _your_ cooking." Yue said before she could stop herself.

Ami paused and turned towards Yue, "Those brats don't know how to show a spec of admiration. You give them far too much credit for what they're worth. They just want to stress this old girl out until she decides to quit…like they do every year."

Yue lowered her gaze. She never realized before how old Ami was. But now that she saw up close the lines and creases in her face, Yue felt pity for the old woman. The twins never knew their limits, and were willing to cross any line.

"I'll help you do whatever you need Ami." Yue said with a smile.

"Thank you, although you'll probably have your own hands full meeting with whatever demands the twins have cooked up for you. You had better finish up that list that they gave you."

Yue sighed. "I have two days to get it all together, and it seems like nothing is actually getting done."

Ami shrugged, "This house is huge. Parties are a big deal around here, although they're a lot of work."

Yue sighed heavily once more. "I suppose so." She took the list out of her pocket, "I have a long way to go…"

"Then get to steppin'."

Yue turned and was about to head out of the kitchen when a thought occurred to her. "Hey Ami…are we supposed to get them anything?"

_That's when my worst fears were confirmed. Ami explained that each member of the staff got a gift for each twin. It didn't have to be anything big, but they'd throw a fit if they didn't receive their quota of presents for the year. Ami said that whatever they got from their hired help they typically threw out anyhow, and cautioned me to not spend a great amount of money on a birthday gift. _

_A thought came to my mind. I decided to use this opportunity to craft part of my revenge. How I would do it? I didn't know exactly. But I knew that their birthday party was going to be the key to getting even with the terrors. _

The morning of June 9 had finally arrived. Yue was sitting in the kitchen, eating her breakfast, patiently waiting for what was to come.

"You seem awfully quiet this morning." Ami remarked, stirring batter.

Yue only grinned, "You'll see why momentarily."

There was suddenly a loud screech coming from Hikaru's room. Yue giggled to herself as Ami placed the bowl on the counter. She looked at Yue with a horrific expression, "Was that…?"

"Just the first part of my plan. You can go and see if you'd like."

Ami placed the bowl on the counter and scurried out of the kitchen, calling for Taro and Yumi as she went. Yue walked to the cupboard and grabbed a bottle of curry powder, chili pepper, and Habanero chili powder. "You like spice Hitachiins? I will give you spice." Yue unscrewed the bottles and dumped the contents into the bowl, quickly stirring the powder in the batter.

Yue left the kitchen and ran upstairs to see how well her plan worked. The snickers coming from fellow staff members were encouraging. She snuck into Hikaru's room and peeked inside his bathroom to see both Hitachiin brothers scrub furiously at their now purple-dyed hair. Yue covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

"It's not that bad Hikaru, really." Kaoru said, trying to calm his brother down.

"Fuck! Kaoru, it's violet! Our hair is fucking violet!"

Yue turned around, grin on her face. She walked to the door of Hikaru's room and quickly rigged her next surprise and then went back to the kitchen to finish her breakfast.

Moments she heard a resounding, "FUUUUUUUUCKKKK!"

_I suppose a bucket of maple syrup and confetti being poured over Hikaru and Kaoru's heads was a bit immature. I can't say they didn't deserve it though. And the pictures I managed to get them are definitely keepers. _

_The rest of the morning the twins spent in their room. I had hoped that they would call off their party, but no such luck. A few hours later people started arriving. Hikaru and Kaoru ended up wearing hats (their guests proceeded to leave and return, each with a hat precariously placed on their heads). _

"Hika-chan! Kao-chan! When can we have cake?"

"Mitsukuni."

"Haha, it's alright Mori-senpai. We'll have cake right now if you want Honey-senpai."

Honey's eyes widened, "Yes please!"

Yue watched the party unfold from a distance. She was told specifically by the twins to stay out of the way. She had a feeling they realized the pranks were all thanks to her, but she couldn't be absolutely sure. She had been careful not to leave any clues behind, after all. Either way, she was also told to be close enough to the festivities to assist and serve anyone who needed her.

"Afternoon Yue."

Yue turned towards a bored looking Haruhi. "Afternoon Haruhi. Enjoying the party?"

"No."

"…eh?"

"Tamaki-senpai insisted my presence, but honestly I'd rather be grocery shopping."

Yue stared at Haruhi for a moment before shrugging. "Can't say I disagree with you there. I wouldn't want to go to the twin terror's party either."

Haruhi was quiet for a moment before, "You wouldn't happen to know why everyone is wearing a hat would you?"

Yue sniggered before answering, "Don't have the slightest clue Haruhi. None at all."

"Uwahhhh, this is the worst cake I've ever had!"

Yue's smile faded as she turned around to see Honey drinking glass after glass of milk. Her eyes widened as she tried to find the Hitachiin twins. Not seeing them, she rushed over to the guest and stroked his hair slightly.

"What did you eat?" Yue asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Birthday cake."

Yue nodded. "Right. I'm sorry about that Haninozuka-san. Please accept my sincerest apologies."

"Did Yu-chan make the cake?"

"Well…not…exactly. Either way, I promise I will make it up to you."

Honey nodded, though there were still a few tears left in his eyes. Yue looked over at the twins who were currently snickering. She pursed her lips as she walked over to them. Scowling, she crossed her arms and looked up at the pair.

"You have a sick sense of humor."

"Ne, ne, Yue. It's not our fault you spiked our cake."

"Yeah. Maybe if you hadn't been so interested in your childish pranks, this wouldn't have happened."

Yue's jaw clenched as she bit back the scolding lecture she so desperately wanted to give. Instead, she bowed and returned to Honey, cutting him a slice of the other cake Ami had made for the party.

_I was learning more about the twins and their perspective on life. They seemed to be willing to sacrifice anyone for their own selfish needs. They knew I had spiked the cake, but made their supposed "friend" try it regardless._

_With this in mind I felt that winning the battle against the twins was going to be impossible. _

Yue tiredly walked to her room. The party had ended a few hours previous and she had been cleaning ever since. She hadn't run into the twins since their last encounter, which made her reflect a bit on her actions.

She realized that in part they were right. She was acting more childish than necessary for someone of her age and knew that in order to beat them, she couldn't lower herself to their level. She was going to need to plan something better if she wanted to attack again.

Yue opened her door and trudged to her bed where she saw two wrapped packages. Biting her lip, she forced back a scowl. She never gave the twins the presents she had gotten them. She couldn't say that they had deserved more gifts, but as it was manners were manners. Sulking, she grabbed the presents and walked over to Hikaru's room. Without knocking, she opened the door and threw the gifts at the twins sitting on Hikaru's bed before they could say anything.

"Happy birthday assholes."

_I honestly don't know what happened to the presents after that. In the rest of my time at the Hitachiin manor, I never saw them again. _

_Though when I was listening to them open the gifts I did hear a gasp of delighted surprise. _

_They never did say thanks. _

**A/N: OTL. Sorry for the six month delay. After SATs, AP exams, and other high school crap I have to endure, this is what I produce. T_T I hope it's alright. Sorry again for the incredibly belated (not to mention short) chapter. **


	7. June Part 2

**Chapter 7: June (Part 2)**

_After the birthday fiasco, I tried going back to not being noticed so much. It didn't work out the way I had hoped it would and in the end, I attracted their attention more than I expected. It was alright though, nearly two weeks after their party and the worst thing that they did was steal all my clothes while I was taking a shower (luckily, Yumi had been in the hallway and got an old uniform for me to wear while I hunted down my other clothes). _

_All in all, life with the twins was more or less normal. This was good for me for two reasons in particular. One, because I liked them out of my hair as much as possible, and two, because I had a big math exam coming up soon and needed to study more than cater to their every whim. All my spare time was spent in my room, going over material. _

_And my studying plan was going great! For a while that is._

Yue slowly worked out another difficult problem in her notebook, sighing when she realized that she did it incorrectly. Erasing her work again, she flipped the page of her math book and tried doing the problem like the example showed her.

"X should equal twelve!"

Upon looking at the answer sheet provided, she saw that x was equal to 384. Scowling a bit, she erased her paper and tried to figure out which step she did wrong.

While working out her math, there was a short knock on the door before her nightmares walked into the room, each with a pompous facial expression. They looked down on Yue as she continued to struggle. She still did not look up.

"Maid-chan!"

"Go away."

"Look at her Kaoru, always so rude."

"I know Hikaru; she's so impolite to the people who pay for her to be here."

"That would be your mother, not you. Go away, I'm busy."

"We're more important."

"Like hell you are."

One twin grabbed her math book while the other her scratch paper. They both carefully scrutinized it before turning to Yue again, "You must be an idiot if you're stuck on this."

Yue flushed a bright red. "Sh-shut up. This is senior math; I don't see how you two would know it either."

Throwing the scratch paper back at Yue, one twin told her, "Ouran is obviously more prestigious than whatever public school you go to. We're all taught very advanced courses at an earlier age so we can reach a full potential as scholars. Unlike commoners like you, who only need enough to become a shopkeeper or janitor."

Yue scoffed, "There are plenty of politicians and people of a high job status who went to a public 'commoner' school. Besides, I bet you're just bluffing anyways."

One twin chuckled as he took the piece of scratch paper and a pencil. "Number 5 right?" Yue nodded and he began writing numbers and formulas. Not even two minutes later he handed the paper back, "X is 384, right?"

Yue looked at his writing and clenched her jaw. Of course one of the twins would be a mathematician. It was just her luck.

"I could help you, if you want."

Yue looked up at the twin speaking. She almost couldn't believe her ears. She wondered if her pride would let her say yes. She was a good student, and got good grades even in her math class, but it was still her worst subject. After contemplating for a moment, she was about to tell the twin in question that she would take him up on his offer, but before she could, he cut her off.

"That is, if you beg me to."

Yue glared; she knew it was just too good to be true. She decided to brush the twin off with a, "Not gonna happen."

"Aw, Kaoru, she's no fun."

"Not fun and also quite stupid if you think about it."

"You don't even have to think about it. Just look at what she's struggling on. You wouldn't even survive a day at Ouran. It's amazing that you can pass the school you're already attending, eh Maid-chan? So, how do you do it? You seduce your sensei don't you?"

Yue's vision blurred as tears began to form in her eyes. "Go away."

"Testy. How does it feel knowing the only reason you'll ever graduate is because you fucked-"

There weren't many words that could describe Yue's fury except that she was finally releasing a bit of the anger she had pent up over the last few months, "Shut up you bastard! God, you two really don't know when to quit do you? Don't belittle my intelligence! I may not be as great in math at the two of you, but I know a hell of a lot more about living and surviving in the real world than you. You say I couldn't last a day in your world? You couldn't live an hour in mine! You're both childish, selfish, and obnoxious as hell. I hate you always looking down on me all the fucking time, so GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!"

The twins stuck their tongues out at Yue and left, one of them muttering, "Bitch."

Yue took a few deep breaths before trying to once again focus on her math homework, but she soon realized that all she could think about was yelling at Hikaru and Kaoru. She didn't feel particularly sorry for either of them, and personally had a lot more to say. However, she also felt that since she was working for them, it'd be in her best interests to go and apologize…even if she felt that they didn't deserve one.

Reclining in her chair a bit, Yue found the ceiling to be fascinating for the moment. She sighed irritably before getting up to go apologize to the twin terrors.

Yue barely took two steps when a folder was slipped underneath her door. She looked at it curiously for a moment before walking over and picking it up. On the front of the folder was a sticky note which read "Sorry. – H & K" inside the folder were detailed notes explaining the lesson that Yue was having troubles with. She smiled a bit before returning to her homework.

_To say I was surprised was a huge understatement. The Hitachiin brothers weren't known for their apologetic nature, and I myself personally have never heard them say sorry up to that point. I thought it was kind of touching that they apologized, though it weirded me out a lot. _

_In case you were wondering, I did end up using the notes to finish my work, and I did end up getting an 'A' on my exam. I don't know if Hikaru and Kaoru ever figured it out (I returned the notes with a sticky that just read "Thanks. – Y" but if they were as smart as they said they were, they probably realized I got high marks). Overall, I think that was the sweetest gesture made my way since I arrived at the manor, and I was planning on milking it for as long as possible, since I likely wouldn't be experiencing another moment like that anytime soon._

_This is probably what led me to opening my mouth at the following staff meeting._

"So they really lent you their notes?" Yumi asked, lying on her stomach, looking at Yue with wide eyes.

Yue nodded, an involuntary smile forming on her face, "I know. I couldn't believe it either. I mean, we had an argument beforehand so I think it was their way of apologizing."

Taro scoffed, "The twins don't ever apologize. Don't forget that. They probably want something and are trying to stay on your good side to get it. They are not selfless people Yue. They're sly and cruel. Whatever they're planning, make sure you're prepared for it."

Ami shook her head slightly, "I hate to agree with Taro, but it's true. I've worked here most of their lives and they've never apologized unless they were forced to. And even when forced, they still sometimes wouldn't. Look Yue, I hate to burst your bubble, but they haven't changed, especially, no offence, for you."

Yue sighed, "I thought not. Maybe they felt a little pity for me."

"Like a lost puppy in the rain."

"Or a charity case."

"Well, either way, I don't really mind. It was a nice gesture, so I'll just leave it at that."

"Ahem, Miss Sato Yue, I presume you can stop spouting that gossip of yours long enough for us to begin our meeting."

"Hideki! It's been awhile, how've you been?"

Hideki gave a curt, "Fine."

Yue grinned. She normally didn't act so casually with adults, but there was something about Hideki that made him fun to poke and tease at. So she did so mercilessly, "Surprising, I swear I saw you going into Yuzuha-san's room today and coming out all flustered."

Hideki made a sour face, "My condition regarding entrances and exits of Hitachiin-sama's quarters are none of your concern. And in any case, I would like to point out that I was not flustered."

Taro made a face in return, "Dude, just admit you have the hots for your boss. It's perfectly fine, I mean, look at our Yue here."

Yue grimaced, "I most certainly do not have a crush on the Hitachiin brothers. I mean, they're attractive, but no."

Taro snickered, "Yeah sure. You don't like the Hitachiin terrors and the sky isn't blue."

"I-I don't! And I don't know why you're insisting that I do."

"Alright, so you don't like them yet." He drawled, "But you will. Eventually. All of them do. It's quite unfortunate if you ask me. Those poor, selfish girls, wanting two identical lovers yet never quite able to tell which is which." He paused, "That actually reminds me, have you been able to win at the Which One is Hikaru game?"

Yue raised an eyebrow, "They have a game for people to guess which one's Hikaru?"

"Ah, I guess they haven't played an official game with you yet. But yeah, that's the basic idea. It's idiotic if you ask me. Even if the player guesses right, they'll just say that they're wrong."

"Hm. I've noticed I always manage to guess the wrong twin."

Taro nodded thoughtfully. "You probably aren't wrong as often as you think. But whatever. Those two would rather die than let someone beat them at their own game."

Yue hummed. "I suppose…have you ever managed to win?"

Taro snorted. "No one ever manages to win. Well…except that Haruhi kid."

Ami smiled and explained, "Haruhi has been able to tell them apart for as they've known each other. You should've seen the twins the first day they actually were told apart. They were very sweet and kind to everyone. It was almost scary how nice they were. Of course…the novelty of being told apart by one person wore off and they went back to being jerks…but it was nice while it lasted."

"And don't forget the time Tamaki-kun got them to join the Host Club," Yumi chimed, "the twins came home, faces blanched and they muttered about a baka king for hours. But their moods were lifted and even though they were still jerks, they still weren't as bad as before."

Taro nodded in agreement, "So Yue, what's your next plan of action?"

"I don't believe now is the time to talk about this." Hideki cut in.

"Aw, calm down old man. I know you hate the twins as much as we do, even if they are the offspring of your object of affection."

Hideki huffed a bit before saying, "Hitachiin-sama is not my 'object of affection' as you so eloquently put it. She's simply my boss and I think it should be impolite to discuss her sons in such a manner."

Taro stuck out his tongue.

"That was quite mature of you. In any case, I do believe we should move along with our staff meeting."

_We ended up going over how much each member of the staff was going to put in towards getting Yuzuha-san a gift of thanks (apparently they did it every year for her birthday in August). The meeting was overall pointless and painstakingly long since Hideki wanted everything to be decided in one evening. It was nearly two in the morning when the meeting was adjourned. _

_Being overtired does things to a person, and probably explained what I had done next._

Groggily, Yue made her way through the hallway. When she reached her door, she noticed something was off. Giving the hall another glance, she noticed that Hikaru's bedroom door was wide open. She rolled her eyes and knew the twins would've given her hell the next morning if she didn't close it.

She walked to the door, intending to shut it, when she saw the twins cuddling together, sleeping soundly. Without thinking, she entered the room and made her way towards the bed.

The lighting from the hall and the moon outside dimly lit the bedroom, but it was just enough to make out the twins' faces. Auburn locks were mussed from sleep, their porcelain skin looking milkier than usual from moonlight, and each twin wore an expression of peace as they slept. Yue knelt down beside them and reached out a hand, softly petting their hair.

"They really are better like this…nice and quiet." Yue whispered to herself. She stood up and returned to the door. "Perhaps one day I will learn to like you."

**A/N: :D yay! Plot development! And updates before the month is over! I'm quite proud of myself.**


	8. July Part 1

**Chapter 8: July (Part 1)**

_I wasn't as happy as I should have been when July finally arrived. School was out on break until August, so I had the whole month with no escape from the house. Sure, Yuzuha-san often gave me my requested weekends off, but with no school, it meant that I had five days of the week trapped inside the Hitachiin household._

_Though, thanks to Yumi going on an extended vacation for her family (she was looking at fashion institutions around the world, trying to find the best place for her to follow in Yuzuha's steps), Yuzuha-san was left without her main employee and apprentice. When Yuzuha-san saw me in the hall shortly after Yumi's departure, she eyed me and asked what dress size I was. When I told her 'two' her eyes lit up and she asked if I could do her a favor. Well…it wasn't as though I could exactly say no to my boss._

_She took me up to her office and explained that not only was it Yumi's job to work as her secretary, but she also helped be a human model for designs, since what looked good on a mannequin didn't always compliment a human body. Yuzuha-san then asked if I minded wearing a few of her outfits, since I was the same size as Yumi was._

_I just couldn't have possibly said no, especially after looking at her brilliant designs up close._

As it turns out, the Hitachiin mansion also came equipped with a work room separate from Yuzuha's main office. The room was painted a royal purple, and was covered with paintings and pictures of different drawings and designs, earliest designs towards the front of the room with more recent ones towards the back, like a track of progress. Several mannequins were pushed to the back of the room, most of them wearing parts of Yuzuha's new summer line. There was a long runway that cut the room in half, and it led to a little door on the side that Yue could guess was a dressing room.

Currently, Yuzuha was working on her autumn line, and explained to Yue that there just needed to be a few minor adjustments to the garments. Yuzuha quickly described what Yue needed to do.

"There's a small changing room down the runway and to the left. Inside there should be a rack of about ten outfits or so. I want you to try them on and then come out here so I can take your picture and make some adjustments. It's an easy job really, but thank you for helping me."

"Ah, it's no problem. Hikaru and Kaoru are out for the day so it's not like much needed to get done."

Yuzuha clicked her tongue, "Mm…they're probably off doing something with their group of Host Club friends." She beamed, "They really are the sweetest group of kids."

Yue nodded, and mentally added 'except for the spawns of Satan you like to call sons.'

"Well, you best be changing. I'll be out here when you're ready."

Yue scurried to the changing room and tried on her first outfit, a cream turtleneck with black skinny jeans, a bright red scarf, and black boots. It was simple, but the fabric made Yue feel like she was wrapped in a cloud rather than fabric. Whatever Yuzuha had used for her clothes was so soft and clung to Yue in all the right places.

Yue walked out, feeling slightly self-conscious as Yuzuha eyed her so fixedly, scrutinizing her appearance. Yuzuha motioned for Yue to turn, which she did slowly.

Yuzuha nodded in approval, "Well, it looks good to say the least. How does it feel?"

"Like a cloud."

Yuzuha smiled and laughed, "Ah, yes, that turtleneck you're wearing is cashmere. Here, pose for me while I take your photo."

Yue awkwardly smiled towards the camera, placing a hand on her hip and trying to stay relaxed. She never knew how camera shy she was until Yuzuha began snapping away, barking out orders of ways Yue needed to pose next.

Within the next few hours, Yue had tried on several dresses, suits, and sweaters; each of them feeling more comfortable and cute than the last. After her initial awkward nature towards the camera, Yue began loosening up a bit and became a bit bolder with her poses.

After a quick photo shoot in a purple, brown, and red dress, complete with gold heels and hoop earrings, Yuzuha asked Yue if she wanted to take a quick lunch break. Yue readily accepted the invitation, and decided to take the chance to learn more about her boss and her sons.

_I was expecting Yuzuha-san to call up Ami and ask her to cook something for us, but instead she took me out to Aragawa, an expensive restaurant in the Shinbashi district of Tokyo. I had only ever been outside the front doors, smelling the expensive food that was inside. And when I say expensive, I mean over a $400 bill…per person._

_My protests to dining in such a place went unnoticed as Yuzuha-san told me to order anything I wanted. I glanced at the menu, noticing that the cheapest item was still way over $100. I couldn't help but feel guilty for taking Yuzuha's money…but she continued to insist, and I figured I would never get the chance to even walk in the doorway again._

Yue munched on her Kobe beef while eyeing Yuzuha-san suspiciously. She knew that she was on good terms with her boss, but this seemed to be a bit extreme. She had never heard of Yuzuha taking her other employees out to lunch…or at least, not to Aragawa. It was unheard of, and Yue felt slightly awkward and uneasy at the sudden over amiable personality of her boss. She hoped it was nothing to worry about, but she couldn't help but ask, "Not that I'm not grateful or appreciative but…why did you bring me here?"

Yuzuha sipped on some tea and considered her response. Yue, feeling awkward again, resumed eating, but she never let her eyes wander away from Yuzuha's.

"How are you Yue?" Yuzuha asked, suddenly very serious.

Yue lowered her chopsticks, unsurprised that her question went unanswered, and let a long pause go before answering, "I'm doing well, why do you ask?"

Yuzuha looked uneasy for a moment before beaming, "I've just been noticing that you're a little less happy then you usually are. I…are Hikaru and Kaoru giving you a hard time?"

Yue didn't quite know how to respond. She considered telling Yuzuha the truth – that her sons had been torturing her since her arrival – but…she couldn't do it. Yue knew that as their mother, it wasn't like she could completely take Yue's side.

So, she opted to lie instead, "They've been fine. The work isn't too hard, and they haven't been bothering me at all. In fact, I hardly ever see them."

Yuzuha relaxed a bit, "I'm glad. They're known for causing trouble, but I suppose you've either kept them at bay or they've gotten bored."

There was a long pause before Yue blurted out, "Why do they like to cause so much trouble? Especially to their help?"

Yuzuha stared at Yue as more silence passed between the two. She chewed on some rice and held a thoughtful expression on her face. "That's an interesting question you pose."

Yue flushed, "I'm…I'm sorry, that was out of line, wasn't it? I'm—"

Yuzuha waved a hand to quiet Yue, "It's alright. To be honest, I'm glad that you asked. You see Yue, there was a nanny that the boys loved very much…"

_Yuzuha proceeded to tell me all about a live in nanny the twins used to have. Apparently she had tricked them into giving her the number for the house safe and stole a lot of money, silver, and valuable gems and trinkets. She was caught, of course, but it stung the twins to have their one friend and their motherly figure at the time to betray them. The nanny also had told them that they would never be told apart…by anyone. Ever. _

_Of course, I knew that their parents and Haruhi had already mastered which was which, but it probably still hurt when others couldn't tell. _

_I guess you could say I felt sorry for them after hearing that story. I still didn't like them or their attitude, but at least now I could sort of see where it had come from. I also knew that there probably wasn't anything I could do to make it better, since I can never tell them apart. But, I figured now I could make some effort to. _

_Not that it would really help._

_After taking in the story, Yuzuha and I finished our lunch (she paid the check without even so much as look at the total) and went back to her studio. She said she only had a few more outfits for me to model and then I could be on my way. _

Yue put on the last ensemble – a pair of dress pants with a floral top complete with green flats, a beige knit sweater, and an umbrella. She walked out, her confidence not faltering, as she walked down the runway and opened the umbrella as she turned. She smiled in the direction the camera had been when she heard a snicker.

Yue whipped her head around to see Hikaru and Kaoru sitting on the opposite side of the runway, each with a notebook in their hands. Yue pursed her lips, "Do I amuse you?"

One twin snorted a bit, "Well yeah, seeing you in that get up would amuse anybody."

"Really, Yue, that fabric is some of the finest in the world. To think of you, a stupid commoner, being allowed to wear it is laughable at best."

Yue looked around desperately for Yuzuha to come to her rescue, to be able to chastise her sons for poor manners, and she was disappointed when she couldn't find her boss anywhere in the room.

As if reading her mind, one twin said, "Our mother had to go check up on another servant."

"She asked us to finish up a shoot…though she didn't mention it was _you_ that we were photographing."

Yue grit her teeth. Just as she thought they took a step forward, here they were, forcing them to go three steps back. She tried to remember to be patient with them, to not lose her head.

But oh, how they managed to push all the wrong buttons.

"This sweater makes you look fat."

"These shoes make your feet look huge."

"The only good thing about this outfit on you is that umbrella because it hides your hideous face."

Yue curled her hands into fists before she managed to spit out a bitter, "Just take my damn picture."

One twin raised an eyebrow, "Such a diva. So typical of someone of your status. Don't worry, I won't take it too personally."

Yue rolled her eyes before turning towards the camera, giving it her most natural smile. She tried to avoid the comments given by the twins as she moved for the photos. She was having fun, so she didn't particularly care for their opinions.

After the last snap, Yue gave the twins a sour look and headed back towards the dressing room to retrieve her old clothes. Though, a large part of her never wanted to wear anything that wasn't a Hitachiin original ever again. The fabric and fit were perfect for her body type. Yue was jealous of the clothing's next owner. She entered the room and started stripping herself of the expensive clothes, humming to herself quietly.

_Click._

Yue froze as she heard two boys snicker. She turned around to see the twins leaning on the door frame, one with a camera in his hands.

"This should make for a nice photo."

The two boys glanced at Yue, who was still paralyzed. One twin flashed her a devilish grin and took a step in her direction. Yue swallowed before she fell backwards. She hastily grabbed her clothes and pulled them on, not looking at the twins who were now towering above her. She stood, pushed past them, and left, refusing to look at either of them in the eye.

"Hey!" One called, "Don't worry so much, it wasn't like there was much to look at anyways!"

_They always enjoyed making me feel miserable. After hearing what Yuzuha had said, I couldn't help but feel like they were trying to compensate for their old nanny. Like…making their new employees feel miserable to try and take revenge for what she had done to them._

_Of course, that was only a guess and for all I knew they could be terrible and cruel for the fun of it. They certainly never seemed to take responsibly for their actions, nor did they ever really feel remorse. _

_But still, when they were kind…whoever was on the receiving end of their kindness was lucky. I couldn't help but want to be that person, just for a little while._

_I suppose learning a bit about them made me understand a little. And I realized that changing their ways and attitude was going to be a challenge. _

_Then again, I never was one to back away from a challenge._

**A/N: Yes. I updated. Hooray. By the way, that restaurant (Aragawa) is real. And I wasn't exaggerating on the price. The average bill for a single person to dine there is about $368. It's the most expensive place to eat in the entire world. So, I would think that rich families would go there a lot. **


	9. July Part 2

**Chapter 9: July (Part 2)**

_A few days went by without the twins acting up. At first, I wondered where the pictures that they had taken of me had gone, but I realized that Yuzuha-san must have taken the camera to get the photos developed and had likely thrown the more promiscuous looking one away._

_So I hoped anyway._

_I spent those days cleaning and staying out of trouble. I called Ayaka a few of the days to see how she was doing, and she spent an hour crying in despair about how I couldn't be there for her over the break. When I explained that yes I could, she asked if she could stop by the Hitachiin estate and then we would go out for a coffee run. I cleared it with Yuzuha and was getting dressed when she arrived._

_I realized that it was too late when I heard the twins already talking._

"So, I see you've been dragging in more of your kind."

"Honestly, we already have enough trash in this house."

"Yeah Maid-chan. We don't need any more peasants breathing our air."

"I mean, just look at her hair. It's possibly the worst dye job I've ever seen."

"And those clothes, they're total knock-offs from Hitachiin originals."

Ayaka, who was looking miffed and close to tears, said, "Shut up. It's not like you're any better. At least I'm nice to others. You're both just selfish jerks."

The twins scowled. One of them stepped towards her, "You also have quite the mouth, don't you?"

"As someone beneath us, you should really learn your place."

_Slap._

Yue glared as the twins each raised a hand towards their faces tenderly, each with a look of surprise. They narrowed their eyes angrily.

"Damn Yue, that's going to leave a bruise!"

"Shut up. And don't say such things about her again." Yue said menacingly. She grabbed Ayaka's arm, pulling her towards the door, "In fact, don't say such things about anyone."

The two girls left and walked towards the street, where Ayaka's bike was parked. Yue sat on the handlebars and the two rode off to a nearby coffee shop in silence. Yue could tell that Ayaka was itching to tell her something.

"What?" she asked, turning her head slightly to see her friend.

"…" Ayaka looked down at the street as she continued to ride.

"I know that face. You want to tell me something."

"I just didn't realize that they treated you that way."

Yue laughed a bit. "I tell you about my adventures at school, don't I?"

"…well. Yes, you do. But it felt so different seeing how they talked to you and treated you in person. It was so much different than how I had imagined."

Yue was quiet as the two kept riding, passing small neighborhoods along the way.

"Do you ever miss home?"

Yue tightened her grip on the handlebars. "I miss my brother, but I see him every morning when I drop off his lunch. Mom is usually waiting with him…but, I guess I do miss being home and spending afternoons with my parents…"

Ayaka nodded. "We're here."

_Caffé Veloce is a little coffee shop not too far from our school. They serve the best coffee in the district, as well as small cakes and prepackaged bentos. It was very quaint and not usually very busy. It's my favorite place to go with Ayaka. _

_We sit at our usual table and wait for Miffy, a young American college girl studying abroad, to bring us our usual. I could tell that Ayaka was still mad, but I didn't exactly know what to say to make things better. She usually wasn't so angry, and she usually told me what she was angry about when she was. Her actions confused me, leaving me totally helpless in trying to make the situation any better._

Ayaka stared out the window, a bitter expression on her face. Yue sighed, "I can't just quit. I'm helping my family…"

Ayaka pursed her lips, "I could've given you the money you know."

"I wouldn't let you do that. Besides, it's not all bad. They…have their moments."

Ayaka snorted. "Sure they do. I'm sure 'their moments' are just the times when they are mercilessly teasing you or making you feel horrible about yourself."

Yue didn't want to give her friend the satisfaction by saying that she was right. Instead she just remained quiet and stared at her lap, wondering what to say. It seemed that she was never going to make her friend happy unless she just quit her job…or got fired.

"Two chocolate lattes, one Japanese-styled roll, and one slice of lemon yogurt cake. Anything else?"

It was almost an inside joke between the three of them, since Ayaka and Yue never ordered anything besides their usual. But, for formalities sake, Yue responded, "No thanks Miffy."

"Your Japanese has certainly gotten a lot better." Ayaka remarked.

Miffy blushed a bit, "Thank you. It still is not perfect but I hope I am to improve."

Miffy moved to Japan to study abroad a little over a year ago. She took about one course in Japanese before coming over only to realize that regional dialects wasn't what she was taught. She had to learn from scratch from the family she was staying with as she went to college. For practice, she got a job at the coffee shop where lots of younger citizens hung out in so she could pick up slang. It was a joke between Yue and Ayaka that the manager hired her because she was so obviously foreign – blonde hair, blue eyed, and towered over practically everyone. She was appealing to customers and therefore brought more people to the shop.

She had gotten close with Ayaka and Yue since they often stopped inside Veloce on their way home from school. They often tried to help her with her broken Japanese and in turn, often learned a few English expressions that were not taught in school.

Miffy hurried to go take care of another customer, leaving Yue and Ayaka to sip their drinks in silence.

"I told you they were trouble you know."

"…I know."

"I told you that you'd probably get hurt."

"…I know."

"But you still won't quit?"

"Can't. I have to put up with it at least until college. Then I suppose I could study abroad somewhere. Maybe the states…"

Ayaka smiled at her friend, "You're a saint."

Yue rolled her eyes a bit. "That's a bit of an overstatement. Actually, after the first month passed they didn't bother me so much. I mean…there were a few incidents…like their birthday, but…it's fine Ayaka, I promise."

_And with that, Ayaka nodded in defeat. We finished up our snack, bid a quick farewell to Miffy, and she took me back to the Hitachiin manor. After a quick hug goodbye I ran back into the house, hoping that the twins wouldn't be anywhere in sight. My prayers were answered. _

_Honestly though, I had a sinking feeling about Ayaka…like she knew something I didn't. The feeling didn't settle so well in my stomach and I wanted some answers. Still, I figured I couldn't exactly dwell on the subject for too long, so I did what I always did when I was conflicted – I made some Ramen._

It was a little past midnight when Yue was finally hungry enough to eat a full bowl of Ramen. She tiptoed down the stairs towards the kitchen, hoping not to wake up anyone in the house.

Yue knew that the kitchen was supplied with foods that made the employees, as well as the Hitachiin family happy. Ramen was always in high stock because she had personally asked Yuzuha-san for it. It more or less became a ritual to eat it if she got too stressed, too overworked, or was simply thinking about something. This habit formed back when she lived with her family. The nights before exams were usually Yue staying up until the early hours of the morning and eating all the Ramen that she could.

So, because of the latest meeting with Ayaka, Yue felt slightly unhappy and hoped to drown her confusing thoughts in instant noodles.

Yue let the water boil as she grabbed a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. She glanced at the clock every now and again to check the time, humming quietly to herself. When the water was done boiling, she dumped the package of noodles in and began to stir. She was getting hungrier by the minute and the thought of the noodles sliding down her throat was all she could think about.

She quickly fixed the bowl to her liking and brought the noodles to the table, where she began to eat happily. She was so concentrated on eating that she didn't notice the appearance of another person enter the kitchen.

"It's after midnight you know."

Surprised, Yue dropped her chopsticks, causing some of the broth to slosh onto her hand. Giving the twin a dirty look, she grabbed a napkin to clean her hand. She looked up, "What do you want? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

The twin shrugged, "I got hungry, just like you."

"Nothing you do will ever be just like me."

The twin's face flashed a slight disappointment before he said, "Of course not, I'm clearly your superior."

Yue grunted in response.

"Go make me some food."

"You do it."

"Aren't you my maid? Aren't you supposed to be serving me hand and foot? That's your job, isn't it? That's what we hired you for anyways. Though, with recent behavior I can't say you've done a good job."

"Heh. How _is_ that cheek of yours by the way?"

"Bruised. Just like I said it would be."

Yue let her eyes flicker to his face. There was a slight discoloration on his left cheek, but it wasn't too noticeable, "You'll be fine in a few days, I didn't hit you that hard." She picked up her chopsticks, "Look, if you're desperately hungry you can share my Ramen with me."

The twin eyed her for a moment, taking her suggestion into consideration. He walked over, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and sat down in the chair next to Yue. "I'll take you up on that offer."

Yue blinked in surprise. "Alright."

The two ate from the bowl in silence before Yue asked, "So, who are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he responded wryly.

"Seriously, I hate having to refer to you as 'that twin.' It's annoying."

"Maybe if you took the time to get to know us, you'd know which is which by now."

"Maybe if you let me get close to you and stop being such assholes, I'd be able to do that."

"Not that easy Yue."

"Thought not, but I suppose it was worth a shot."

The two continued to eat in silence. Yue couldn't help but stare at the twin next to her. Even with his hair slightly disheveled and his eyes half opened, he was still the image of perfection. She remembered reaching out her hand to stroke his auburn hair. She smiled to herself as she wondered who exactly he could be.

"Hey," the twin said, breaking her thoughts, "I've been wondering for a while…why did you apply here anyway? Surely you heard of our reputation."

"Actually I hadn't. The pay and benefits are really good and I really need a job to get through school. At that point I needed the extra money so badly that it wouldn't have mattered if I was working for the Devil himself…though, I got pretty close with you two." Yue chuckled to herself, "But…after meeting Yuzuha-san, I felt like I couldn't have had a better boss. She was just so kind…and to someone of a lower status at that. It was nice feeling wanted and important. And she hired me on the spot, so who was I to complain?"

The twin beside her nodded slightly.

"So, mind answering something for me?"

He raised his eyebrow, "Depends."

"Why do you two act this way?"

The twin blinked. "It's a long story."

"It's not like I'm going anywhere."

He hesitated before answering, "It's none of your business anyway. You're just my maid and that's all you'll ever be." He stood up and started walking to the doorway. Suddenly, he stopped, and without turning around he said, "I'm Kaoru by the way."

And then he left.

_It's more progress than I could have hoped for, though it still didn't answer any of my questions. Tomorrow I knew I wasn't going to be able to tell them apart…I never could. For all I knew that was Hikaru pretending. But, for some reason I felt as though he was telling the truth this time._

_Still – between Ayaka and the twins I was starting to form more questions than answers._

_And that was by far the last thing I wanted to have happen._

**A/N: Erm. Yay for quick update. Boo for crappy plot. I swear. I have an outline…I've just been creatively drifting from it. /shot. **

**In any case, at least some progress has been sorta-kinda made. Ish. **

…**review? Plox? :D**

**BTW – Miffy is another side character. I seem to have a lot of those. She'll probably be in 2 more chapters MAX. So yeah…just for future reference. **


	10. August Part 1

**Chapter 10: August (Part 1)**

_The party for Yuzuha was grand and elegant, completely unlike the party for the twins. For Yuzuha the house was decorated in gold and had an air of class that made me feel like I should be drinking champagne and talk about abstract philosophy or art. I hadn't thought that I would be a guest - but Yuzuha said that since it was her party that all of her employees should attend as such, rather than as hired help. So, although I felt more comfortable in my work attire, I was currently in the best dress I owned, which still put me out of place in comparison to everyone else in the manor._

"Ah, Yue! Are you having a good time?" Yuzuha asked, eyes sparkling. She was currently attached to her husband, who was looking more disgruntled than Yue herself.

With a polite bow, Yue answered, "Yes, I'm quite enjoying the party. Thank you for allowing me to attend."

Yuzuha laughed, "Not to worry my dear, you just continue to enjoy yourself! Eat some of the food, the caterers that were hired are no where near as good as Ami, but overall it's pretty good."

Yue smiled and nodded, but she wasn't feeling particularly hungry. In fact, all she wanted to do was retire to her room and go to sleep. Unfortunately, she thought it would be quite rude of her to leave a party that was intended for her boss. Instead she roamed through the house, trying to find someone to talk to. Her options were limited since Yuzuha's guests were mostly big-time CEOs, older fashion designers, and a few close clients of hers.

'Well,' Yue mused to herself, 'there's always the twins.'

So as not to upset her sons, Yuzuha had also invited the Host Club and their families. Yue contemplated whether or not she should find Haruhi, if he even came. She sighed to herself and wondered what to do.

"Hey Yue!"

Yue turned to see Taro and Ami smiling at her. She grinned and walked over. "Hey you guys. Some party, right?"

Taro rolled his eyes, "I'd much rather be tending to the gardens. Or playing poker. Parties like this make me feel uncomfortable." He held out a glass of sparkling cider, "Here. You look thirsty."

Yue nodded in agreement and took the glass, "Yeah, I'm not really having a good time either. I like being hired help rather than a guest at these things. I mean…I didn't expect it to be so boring."

Taro snorted. "Rich people just don't know how to party."

Ami rubbed her forehead, clearly exasperated. "Hideki put so much work into this party, but all I want to do is get an aspirin and go to bed."

Yue half-heartedly wondered where Hideki was at the moment. "Well, in any case, the party should be ending soon right? I can't see how it could go on for much longer."

Taro and Ami nodded. Ami checked her watch and yelped in surprise, "I best be going now, Hideki said he wanted my help around this hour. Enjoy the party…or try to."

Taro stretched, "I think I'm going to go outside and crash for a few. See you 'round Yue."

Yue blinked as her two companions left her. She sighed and turned, only to bump into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it, it's not like I'm hurt or anything."

"…Haruhi? Is that you?"

Standing before Yue was Haruhi, or someone who looked like Haruhi, who was wearing a long pink dress with matching heels and clutch and looking very out of place. The person grumbled and said, "Yes. Hikaru and Kaoru and Tamaki-senpai forced me to a wear a dress to the party tonight, which I didn't even want to go to."

"…you're a girl?"

Haruhi laughed, "That's right, you've only ever seen me in guy's clothes. I have a debt to pay, so I dress like a boy at school…not that it really matters. It's just clothes. I don't really care."

"…you're a girl?"

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, "Don't think to much into it, it's not a big deal."

Yue suddenly laughed. "Man, all this time I thought you were…but I…oh geez. Haruhi, I'm sorry."

Haruhi just waved her off, "It's fine, really, I'm just glad that-"

"Haruhi! There you are!"

The twins approached Haruhi, smiles on their faces. Yue couldn't remember the last time she saw them so happy. She looked at the floor awkwardly, wondering if she should leave or stay.

"Haruhi, you look so nice in our design."

"You should dress like a girl more often."

"I'm trying to talk to someone right now. Can't you fawn over someone else?"

"But Haruhi-" they whined. Yue swore one of them gave her a look that could kill.

"No Haruhi, it's alright. It's their house and I have to go help our butler out."

"You mean the one that's in love with our mom?" a twin asked venomously.

Yue jumped in surprise. She hadn't expected that sort of response. It was also different. She was used to the rest of the staff making fun of Hideki's crush at his expense, but the way that the twin had put it…Yue didn't like the tone and didn't like the context behind it. She swallowed and said, "I'm not sure of his feelings Hitachiin-san, though I really doubt your hired help will go after your mother. He's merely a butler."

"Yeah. Alright. So if he happens to ruin this family, I'll be sure to remember that you helped him do it."

_I was at a loss for words. There was something going on. Some reason why he had been so cold to me. I wondered if something similar had happened before. I tried to push back what he had said, but his putting blame and fault on Hideki for no reason really rubbed me the wrong way. What gave him the right to talk like that about someone he didn't know?_

_Frustrated, I left the living room and went upstairs to take refuge in Yuzuha's office, the furthest room from the twins. I stayed there for the remainder of the party, feeling alone. _

_Stupid twins._

Yue finally reached her hall, happy to finally be able to go to her room, when she saw a twin in the hall. Still angry from earlier she shouted, "Hey! Who do you think you are?"

The twin turned around, shrugged, and said, "Kaoru Hitachiin. And who, exactly, are you?"

"…what kind of question is that? You know who I am."

"Don't you know who I am?"

"I…why'd you speak so horribly about Hideki? He did nothing to you!"

"That wasn't me."

Yue could feel a smirk tugging at his lips. She stamped her foot childishly. "Yes it was."

"That was Hikaru. In case you're too stupid to remember, I'll say it again; I'm Kaoru." The smirk appeared on his face. "Can't you tell?"

Yue couldn't. She couldn't tell if it was really Kaoru playing with her, or Hikaru pretending to be his brother. "W-well that's not the point!"

"Aw, you're back to stuttering. That's no fun. I thought you'd have grown a backbone by now."

"You're not Kaoru."

Yue knew calling him on a bluff was a big risk, especially if it was Kaoru. But she couldn't help it. The words spilled out before she could stop herself.

"And why do you think that? Where is your reasoning?" When Yue remained quiet, he continued, "Exactly. You have none. For your information, I am Kaoru. Stop trying to think otherwise."

Yue felt her heart twinge a bit.

"Che. Grow up. You'll never be able to tell us apart, you might as well stop trying."

"You're not Kaoru."

His smirk turned into a scowl. "Shut up! I told you that I am. Why don't you just believe me! It doesn't matter since you'd never tell the difference tomorrow." He glanced over his shoulder and gave me a cold, "Goodnight."

"Because you mentioned my stutter."

He turned, "What?"

"K-kaoru hasn't ever called me out on my stutter. Only Hikaru has."

He stared at Yue for a moment, slight shock and angry blush apparent on his face. His scowl deepened as he turned around again, "Goodnight." He disappeared into his room and closed the door behind him.

Yue felt her lips turn up in a smile, "Night."

_I couldn't tell if it was easier being able to tell them apart or if I was just getting lucky in guessing who was who._

_In the end, it didn't matter because Hikaru was right and I couldn't tell which was which the next morning when they both insulted my school uniform and choice in shoes._

_I really needed a break._

**A/N: Yay for updates. Also - I am totally not in love with this chapter. But the next one will be better, I promise ^_^**

**Till then - please review ^^**


	11. August Part 2

**Chapter 11: August (Part 2)**

"You're going on a date."

_Perhaps I should back up a little bit. _

_Ayaka, as a last ditch effort in trying to hang out (which was ridiculous to begin with because I told her I can be with her over weekends), set me up on a blind date so we could double. Though, it wasn't so much blind since I knew exactly who she would set me up with._

_Miyagi Ryu. _

_Let me explain even further: Ryu and I have gone to school together since we were about five. His most noble, and might I mention only, interaction he's had with me was when we were eleven and I scraped my knee on the sidewalk. He ran all the way to the infirmary to get me a band-aid. I've been hopelessly in love with him ever since._

_Well. Maybe not love, but I certainly liked him a great deal. And Ayaka knew it. And she's been trying to get us together since I told her back in middle school, but so far it hasn't worked out too well. This is partly because I didn't really know how to 'go out' with anyone, but mostly because Ryu always seems to be taken. Not that he's extremely gorgeous or anything (though, his big brown eyes and lean muscled frame certainly helped in the looks department) but he's just so nice to everyone._

_He had recently gotten dumped by his last girlfriend, which is why I was certain Ayaka got him to agree to go out with me. _

_And he's the reason I'm standing in Ayaka's room in jeans and a t-shirt, wondering why I couldn't dress up plainly. _

_I think that catches us up to speed._

"But Ayaka, he's not going to care."

"You don't even know who I've set you up with yet."

"Yes I do, it's Miyagi Ryu. You wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't with Ryu."

"Alright, it is Ryu. And even if he is nice, he's still going to care a little about your appearance. What guy wouldn't? Besides, you need to get your mind off things for awhile…"

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean…you know, never mind. Here, try on this red top."

Yue took the top but looked at her friend, who was wearing a strange expression. "Ayaka…"

"You need to get your mind off those brats! I mean…they're all you talk about lately, which is understandable…I guess. But, listen Yue, they're ruining your life and making you feel all depressed lately. So, you and I need to go out and have a good time and not talk about Hikaru and Kaoru for once."

Yue blinked and glanced at the floor. She knew Ayaka was right to some degree, and she had been hoping to do something with her. She sighed and smiled, reassuring her friend that she was going to take the advice.

"You know, don't wear the red top. Try on the green sundress instead."

"Green looks horrid on me."

"No it doesn't! Come on, that dress would make you look even prettier."

Yue rolled her eyes, but tried on the dress anyway. When she looked in the mirror she smiled, just a little bit.

"See. I told you so. Now just take down your hair."

Yue reached up and untangled her hair from the bun it was in, letting her black locks fall in her face. The smile grew a bit wider.

"Now see, was that so bad Yue?"

In response, Yue stuck out her tongue. She put her hair back up and told Ayaka, "I'll be here tomorrow a half hour before my…date."

"Aw, you can't stay the night?"

Yue checked her watch, "I wish I could, but it's a weekday and I'm late enough as it is. The twins will be home by now…don't give me that face, it's not like I'm looking forward to seeing them." She gave her friend a quick hug, "See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, see you."

_I suppose my first mistake was letting Ayaka plan this date in the first place, since now I was nervous and slightly nauseous about the whole thing. _

_My second mistake? Letting the twins find out._

Yue let herself inside the mansion, planning to swing by the kitchen for some dinner, and then head upstairs to clean a bit before doing her homework. Unfortunately, instead of an empty parlor room, she was greeting by two unhappy twins.

"You're late."

"I'm aware."

"You could be fired for that you know."

"I let your mother know I was going to be out with a friend this afternoon. She said it was fine."

The twins exchanged a glance. "Who could possibly want you as a friend?"

Yue pursed her lips, "Shut up. I could say the same for you. Honestly, I don't know how anyone could put up with the likes of you."

"Well that wasn't very nice."

"Yue, how do you plan on making friends when you say such horrible things?"

"I bet you don't have any friends. You're probably just making it all up."

"I was not! And…and I don't even know why I'm trying to prove myself to you. You two clearly don't deserve any of my time."

The twins shared another glance with each other and started circling around Yue. "Say Hikaru, maybe she wasn't out with a friend today."

"Perhaps a lover?"

"Ne, ne Yue-chan? Was it a lover you were with?"

Yue blushed slightly. "No! I don't even-"

"Don't even what?"

"Have a boyfriend?"

"We figured you wouldn't."

"You're not exactly pretty enough…"

"And you won't sell yourself…"

"I doubt you could even get a date."

"Y-yes I can! I can get lots of dates! In fact, I have one tomorrow."

The twins stopped circling her. "What."

"That's right. I have a date with the cutest, smartest, most popular boy at my school." It was only a half lie, Yue told herself. Ryu _was _cute and popular…he wasn't the brightest, but overall he got by. And what the twins didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

"They must have pretty low standards there if a guy like that goes after you."

"Hey! You will not speak of him like that! You don't even know him. Besides, what difference does it make to me what you think anyways? He might not be 'up to standard' with you two, but to me he's very special."

A smirk appeared. "Oh, is that so? Well, in that case I suppose we have no choice. Go on. Have a _wonderful_ time."

_I'll admit it – his tone scared me. I wasn't going to let him ruin this for me though. The next day came around and I went to Ayaka's without a thought of the twins in mind. We ended up deciding to go to Veloce, since it was close by and had a good enough atmosphere._

Yue sat in next Ryu and across from Ayaka and her date (the class rep Chikao), feeling slightly nervous. Ryu was chatting with Miffy in English, much to Miffy's relief. Yue didn't mind, in fact, she was glad that Ryu's attention wasn't on her – she felt too much like a nervous wreck and probably wouldn't have said anything remotely intelligent had he been speaking with her.

"So, Yue, the usual, yes?"

Yue squeaked. Ayaka kicked her from underneath the table. "I, uh…yeah, that's fine. Thanks Miffy."

"You are welcome. Call if there is anything you be needing."

Yue swallowed. The table was silent. She started to feel shy and was pulling at her hair a bit. Ayaka cleared her throat a bit, trying to get her to say something. But between the pressure of her friend sitting across from her and the charming smile from the boy sitting next to her, Yue seemed to be at a loss for words.

It seemed as though Ryu and Chikao were hitting it off nicely though, as they were idly chatting about sports and food and school. It was almost comfortable. But not quite. Yue took a napkin and started twisting it out of nervousness.

Auburn.

Yue blinked and looked up out at the window, startled. "Did…did you guys see something?"

The other three shook their heads. Ryu put his arm around Yue and said, "Perhaps you imagined something?"

She nodded and tried to relax when she saw another flash of auburn by the window.

Her mouth felt dry. Her head felt dizzy. Yue started feeling warmer and warmer. "I…I need some fresh air. I'll be right back. I promise." She shook the arm off and went outside the café's door, taking in deep breaths of air, looking around but seeing nothing.

"Hikaru, I told you this was a bad idea."

"Shh. She's outside. Do you want her to catch us?"

Yue blinked, and then felt frustrated. The twins really never did leave her thoughts. She grumbled to herself and turned around, prepared to go back inside, when she heard rustling from a nearby bush.

"…I must be going crazy. It's…clearly a squirrel…or rabbit. It…can't be those devils. It just can't be…"

But curiosity got the better of her and she went to the bush, carefully peering over it.

Dark brown eyes met two identical sets of amber ones.

"AGH!" Yue stumbled backwards, "You! You two…WHY the hell are you here?"

"We didn't think you were serious when you said you had a date."

"Well I was, and I'd like to get back to it, so if I could just leave…"

"No you don't. The look on your face gives you away. You're not into this guy."

"O-of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you like us instead?" one twin tilted her chin up slightly. Yue felt a blush spread across her cheeks.

"I-I do not."

The twin released her chin. "So you say."

Yue crossed her arms and turned to the other, who hadn't said anything. He looked dark and scared Yue a bit. "Well," she asked, "what do you have to say for yourself?"

He stood still for a moment before glaring at her. "You're supposed to be a maid! _Our_ maid! Not his! Just who do you think you work for anyways? You're a part of the Hitachiin manor, not…not this guy! Besides, he's not all that great looking and you clearly don't like him. So stop trying to ignore the situation! You belong to _me_!"

Yue blinked in surprise. "I…I do not belong to anybody, least of all you. You're rude, brash, and horrible to be around. I'm might be a maid, but I'm not a piece of property! I don't belong to you or your brother. I belong to myself, and myself says that I want to spend the night with Ryu! Not with an immature, spoilt, ungrateful brat like you!" She turned and opened the door, "Go home, you stupid Hitachiin brothers. Just…go home and leave me alone."

Yue walked in, the whole café so quiet one could hear a pin drop. She flushed and bowed in an apology. She took her seat, but refused to look at anyone at her table. She could feel Ayaka's disapproving stare and Ryu's confusion.

"What was that about? Crazy friends of yours?" Ryu asked.

"We're not friends."

Ryu scratched his head, "Uh, hey listen, if they're going to be that possessive over you, maybe we shouldn't do this again…"

Yue's head snapped up as she looked at him, her eyes wide. Ayaka was already trying to tell him about how wonderful Yue was. Chikao sat there, staring at her with pitying eyes. Yue sunk in her seat, and when Miffy arrived with the food, she had completely lost her appetite.

Worst date ever.

_So after the most awkward dinner I've ever experienced (it was even worse than my first dinner with the twins), Ryu told me I should date one of the cool looking guys from earlier instead of him since clearly they had some fixation with me. I wanted to cry and tell him the truth – that they were my bosses sons who promised to make my life hell – but I couldn't do it. I just smiled and said I would consider it._

_I had to drag myself back inside their mansion. And I had to drag myself to my room. But there was a nice surprise waiting for me when I got there._

A twin, Yue couldn't tell which one it was, was standing outside her door, sheepish look on his face. She stared for a while before saying, "Yes?"

"I'm…er…sorry. About earlier."

Yue felt her heart clench a bit. She swallowed, her throat feeling tight. "Uh huh."

"Um…I don't know what got into me…"

"Uh-huh."

There was a long pause. Yue hated those.

"I…really am sorry."

"You…you're not really the one who said those things, are you?"

"…"

"Thought not. You're apologizing for your brother, aren't you?"

"…"

"Thought so. Please move."

The twin stepped aside and Yue opened the door to her room. Before she went inside, she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. She turned slightly, tears already threatening to fall from her eyes.

"If…if it's worth anything, he didn't seem to be your type anyways."

"I know. But it would've been nice to find out for myself." She shrugged his hand off her shoulder. "Go tell your brother he got exactly what he wanted."

_The next few days I completely avoided any contact with the twins._

_But one phrase kept haunting me._

"_You belong to me."_

_Just what did he mean when he said that? And why did he say that? What possessed him to say that to me?_

**A/N: I promise Hikaru will have a scene where he's nice. I really, really promise. It's already written, but it's a chapter or two into the future. Sorry for so much cruel!mean!possessive!Hikaru.**


	12. September Part 1

**September (Part 1)**

_I had been looking forward to September for a while now. Not so much because of school or the beginning of fall or anything like that. It was for a much better reason. September 10th__ is my younger brother's birthday. Our parents always managed to give him a wonderful party for his birthday, and this year would be no different. After school ended for the day there was going to be a celebration in his honor at home. _

_Home._

_Sure, I saw my house almost every day. I made Tai Yang's lunch after all, and always had to drop by to give it to him. But to stay there overnight was going to be different, better. I missed my home. _

_In any case, I was making sure to pack all of Tai Yang's favorites for his special day._

Yue arranged the bento carefully – lots of steamed rice, octodogs, potstickers, and kiwi fruit. She filled it to the brim with all of his favorite foods – knowing he would be pleased when he opened it later that afternoon.

She turned to her second bento box, which she was filling with several desserts. Normally she wouldn't spoil her brother so much, but she felt obligated since she hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to him. She knew that her treats couldn't substitute her absence, but she hoped it would somehow fill the void.

In the second bento she placed mochi (filled with red bean paste), lots of candies like Hi-chews, Pocky, and Hello Panda, and even made him several moon cakes, in celebration of the moon festival.

Smiling down at the bentos, Yue felt satisfied with her work, and was happy that she got up earlier to make it. She stretched and reached for her furoshiki cloth and chopsticks.

"You don't seem the type to like Octodogs." A voice whispered in her ear.

Yue jumped and gave a loud yelp. She turned to see a snickering twin resting on the counter. She growled and didn't give him a response, deciding instead to wrap up the bento before he could say anything else.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked, plucking a moon cake out.

"Don't touch it, it's not for you."

Instead of putting it back, he stuffed it in his mouth. "Not bad. You make it?"

"Of course I made it. You can't buy these unless it's the moon festival or Chinese New Year. In fact, you can't buy them in this city at all. We have to get them sent from relatives in Beijing."

"I always forget you only pretend to be Japanese."

"I always forget how uncivilized you are." Yue opened a separate tin and retrieved another moon cake, replacing the one the twin took.

"So, what's with the extra bento? It's not like you need the extra calories."

Yue felt her jaw go slack. She crossed her arms in front of her protectively. "It's not for me; it's for my younger brother. It's his birthday today."

"You have a younger brother?"

"Yes. I've only been making his lunch every day since I got here. Maybe if you bothered to do anything but sexually harass me, you'd know this."

"It's not sexual harassment if you enjoy it you know." He responded coyly.

"I…I do not enjoy it. Why the hell are you here anyways? Or talking to me for that matter. I'm still mad at you for what happened with Ryuu."

He looked at Yue with dead eyes. "That wasn't me. I was the one to apologize."

"I…oh, forget it. I'm not even going to bother. I can never tell with you two anyways." Yue thought she saw his eyes lower for a moment. Feeling slightly guilty, she cleared her throat and said, "I mean…I…alright, that sounded wrong and I'm a horrible person for saying it. Shut up. Go away. I don't have time for you right now."

"You should make me one."

"Excuse me?"

"The bento." He said, pointing to the box in question.

"Ask Ami for a bento box, it's her job to make you food, not mine." Yue picked up the bento boxes and removed her apron. "Or you could make it yourself."

"I want you to do it."

"We all want things."

He crossed his arms. "Make me one or I'll just take that one."

"No. It isn't for you. And what are you, five? You can't just make demands. And stop acting like a spoilt brat. I thought we got past this."

The twin pouted, "But Maid-chan!"

"And stop calling me that! I have a name just like you do!"

He leaned into the counter, "Bet you can't tell me what it is though."

Yue paused, giving him a once over. She felt her lips twitch, as though a name just wanted to fall from them, though she couldn't pick which one. She set her brother's lunch down on the counter and shook her head softly. "I'm sorry."

An awkward silence fell between the two. Yue heard the birds chirping outside, and even though she desperately wanted to leave the kitchen, her feet felt as though they were glued to the floor. He looked equally uncomfortable as he mumbled a, "It's fine. Happens all the time."

Yue chewed on her lower lip as the silence grew. The twin only stared at her, silently daring her to say something in return. She swallowed and grabbed the bentos and her backpack. She made her way to the kitchen door, pushing past the twin and giving a muttered, "Sorry." Sorry for not knowing or sorry for running into him, it was impossible to tell.

She left the house without looking back.

_I rode my bike to my house like I did every morning and saw Tai Yang sitting outside on the curb, already waiting for me. He giggled and leaped into my arms, screaming, "I'm TEN! I'm TEN! You hear that Yue! I'm TEN now!" I laughed with him and gave him his lunch. His eyes sparkled when he said thank you, and asked when I was coming over for his party._

"_Right after school." I promised, wrapping my pinky with his. He gave me a wide smile. "I'll drop my stuff off at the Hitachiin's and be right over."_

_And then he hugged me, so I kissed his forehead (a kiss which he promptly wiped off) and waved goodbye. _

Yue rode her bike to the Hitachiin manor as quickly as possible, threw her schoolbooks and backpack in her room, and grabbed her overnight bag and Tai Yang's gift. She wiped her brow and was on the verge of leaving once more when a voice called out, "And where do you think you're going?"

She turned to see a twin at the bottom of the staircase. She pursed her lips and said, "To my brother's birthday party. What's it to you?"

"Who says I'm gonna let you go?"

Yue's face flushed with anger. She set down her gift and bag and walked over to the twin. She poked him in the chest and said, "I'm not missing my brother's birthday party. You're not going to stop me."

The twin looked at her, bemused, and said, "But I have stuff I want you to do."

"I don't fucking ca-"

Yue was stopped with a hand clamped on her shoulder. The twin's face twisted into a smirk. "You have two options. You can stay here and do what I ask, or you can take me with you to the party."

"What! I'm not gonna-"

"Ah, ah. Those are your two choices."

Yue glared at the twin, who was now smirking gleefully. She angrily pushed his arm away and turned towards the door. "Fine. Come with me then. Not that you'll find it exciting. It's a commoner party. For a ten year old. It won't be nearly as extravagant as your birthday party. Not even close."

"Heh. I don't expect it to be Maid-chan."

Yue grabbed her items and walked out the front door, the twin trailing behind her, clearly pleased with himself. She scoffed as she watched him grab his bike, clearly unhappy with his presence. He only grinned at her, and the two of them started riding over to the Sato residence in a tense silence.

Tai Yang was already waiting beside the curb, as he was that morning. He was wearing a party hat and was jumping up and down when he saw his sister arrive. When he saw the twin though, he gave Yue a look. A look that Yue dreaded because she knew what was coming next.

"Yue onee-chan, is this your boyfriend!"

Yue's face turned bright red as she shook her head violently. "No! Never! Not in a million-"

"Yes."

Yue whipped her head to face the twin. Her face grew even warmer as she started to sputter, "Wait. But. You. I. When."

The twin knelt down to meet Tai Yang at his level. He grinned softly and said, "My name's Hikaru. You're Tai Yang right?" There was a nod of affirmation. Hikaru ruffled Tai Yang's hair and said, "I hope you give me and your sister your blessing birthday boy."

Tai Yang hesitated before saying, "You'll protect aneki right? Because if you don't," he puffed out his chest slightly, "then I'll have to destroy you!"

Hikaru chuckled, "Don't have to worry about that. I'll make sure to never let her out of my sight." He winked at Yue.

"Then that's ok." he turned to Yue, "Where's my present?"

Yue handed him his brightly wrapped gift and Tai Yang ran back inside to tell their parents she had arrived. She turned to Hikaru, face still bright red, and hissed, "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?"

"You know what!"

"Oh." He pretended to think about her question before answering, "I felt like it."

"You can't just…do you know what my parents are going to think!"

"They'll be proud their kid can get laid?"

"Stop being such an idiot. Now they're going to question me and it's all your fault!" she huffed as she started to walk inside, "I knew I shouldn't have agreed to let you come."

"Aw, come on? Would dating me really be that bad?" Hikaru asked, poking Yue's cheek. "By the way, you're still blushing." His eyes glinted. "I don't think you think it's bad at all. I think you want to date me."

"I most certainly do not."

Yue opened her front door and walked inside, trying to ignore Hikaru to the best of her abilities. The sound of laughter was coming from the kitchen, so she headed in that direction, following the scent of freshly made teriyaki. Hikaru followed, though stopped halfway to look at the family portraits on the walls.

"Hey, I'm not waiting for you." Yue snapped, realizing that Hikaru was stalling. He waved her on ahead, but Yue walked to him instead. She leaned up against the wall and looked at the picture he was staring at. It was a picture of her and Tai Yang when they were younger; the two of them were sitting out in a garden, berry stains on their hands, faces, and clothes, each of them with fingers stretching out their cheeks and tongues sticking out. Yue's hair was in messy braids and Tai Yang's was sticking out in many different directions. There were a few beads of sweat dripping down their faces, but the two of them looked very happy.

Yue smiled fondly at the picture. She was about thirteen and Tai Yang was no more than five. It was one of her favorite pictures her family had of the two of them. She looked at Hikaru curiously, expecting him to be doubled over in laughter, but surprised to see him look so…melancholic.

"H-Hikaru?" she asked tentatively, now slightly worried. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" he looked over at her, "O-oh. Yeah. I'm fine." He glanced down at Yue and said quietly, "I can't help but be jealous though…"

"Jealous?"

Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck. "It's nothing. Hey Maid-chan, why don't you give me a tour of the place."

Yue rolled her eyes and said, "After I say hello to my parents, alright?"

She walked to the kitchen door and swung it open, immediately greeted by ten screaming kids running around the kitchen and backyard. She laughed as she saw her mother frantically cooking in the kitchen and her father sitting in his armchair like there was nothing going on.

"Hello mom!"

Yue's mother looked over and dropped her spoon, rushing over to her daughter. "Oh good to see you Yue. I see you brought a friend."

"And that's all he is mom."

"Oh, no need to be shy, Tai Yang already told me." she walked to Hikaru and smiled up at him. "Hello, I'm Yue's mother, Sato Jingjing."

Hikaru bowed and said, "Good evening Sato-san. It's a pleasure to be in your home. It's very beautiful. Is that a cherry blossom tree in your yard?"

Yue choked, unable to believe how polite Hikaru was. "You-but you…and you! But you're not-"

Hikaru only winked.

_The party was fun; lots of cake and ice cream as usual. Tai Yang's friends ran away from me (they thought I was infected with cooties), and I got to spend some quality time with my family._

_My traitorous family who accepted Hikaru without a second thought and I swear, by the end of the night they were already planning our wedding. Hikaru thought the whole ordeal was hilarious. I did not. _

_But, nevertheless, he was a guest, so I did finally show him around our house. He bothered me about how tiny and cramped it was (though complimented my parents on choosing such a quaint, cozy little place!) and complained about the decorations (which he told my mother were very fascinating and asked where he could get some), and overall didn't have anything positive to say about our house._

_Except._

_I couldn't help but notice how often he walked by our family photos._

"It's not like they'll magically change the more you walk by."

Hikaru scowled. "I know."

"So why do you insist on inspecting each one every five minutes?"

Hikaru's scowl deepened and he muttered something incoherent. Yue crossed her arms and watched him go up and down her hallway again.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

This time, Hikaru said nothing. He just stood in front of another picture. This one was a family portrait of Yue, Tai Yang, and their parents. It was taken on Christmas morning two years ago. They were in their pajamas and sitting together on a worn couch, each holding a present they received.

Yue watched Hikaru's face soften at the photograph. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and asked, "Hikaru, is something wrong? Normally I wouldn't care, but you're acting very out of character and-"

"It's not fair."

Yue blinked. "Wh-what?"

"You're poor, but your whole family is so goddamn happy!"

Yue let her mouth fall open. "Are you…jealous?"

Hikaru blushed and looked away. "Of a filthy commoner like you? Who would be jealous of someone so…poor…I mean, it's ridiculous! Why, you only wish I could be jealous of you. You only wish that I want a life where my whole family is always together…with a mom who listens and a dad who's there for birthday parties. For a childhood where I could be messy and not care about appearances or making my parents look good. Yue, you only wish I was jealous of all of that! Because, you'd have to be goddamn crazy to want a…want a life like that."

Yue could see tears pricking in his eyes. She awkwardly stood there, unsure of what exactly to do. She cleared her throat and glanced down at her feet. She sighed and took a few steps forward, wrapping her arms around him in an awkward hug.

"Um…it's going to be ok? I mean, you've got friends to help you right? And Kaoru? And…me. You'll be alright." She stood there awkwardly. "Um. I'm not all that great with cheering people up. So…" she grabbed his hands. "Let's uh…go up to the roof. I think you'll like it up there."

_I took him up to the roof._

_I actually took him up to the roof._

"And that's Orion's Belt…and there's the big dipper, so right there is the little dipper." Yue pointed out several of the constellations.

Hikaru sat there, completely interested in what she was saying. It was a surprise to Yue that she finally had his complete attention. She almost giggled. Almost.

"So," she started, "mind if I ask you something?"

Hikaru eyed her for a moment before shrugging. "That depends Maid-chan. Mind if I ask you something in return?"

Yue hesitated, but nodded. Hikaru nodded as well. "Ok then…I have a few questions for you then."

"So do I."

"Are you really Hikaru?"

There was a long pause. "Yes."

Yue sucked in her breath. "Ok…so, why'd you ask to come today?"

"Ah, ah. I believe it's my turn for a question. No need to be so impatient." Yue pouted, but he continued, "Did you think I was Kaoru?"

"…yes."

The two sat in an awkward silence. Yue cleared her throat, "So why'd you ask to come?"

"Because we're not so different after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why'd you think I was Kaoru?"

Yue sighed irritably, "He's just…been…nicer. Not by a lot, but a little. Answer my question."

"You care a lot about Tai Yang."

"Yeah, so what?"

"You're the oldest."

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with-"

"I'm the oldest."

The two were quiet for another minute as Yue took in that piece of information. She twiddled her thumbs and looked up at the sky. She could feel Hikaru's piercing gaze focused on her, so her cheeks grew warm. "You-"

"You care for Tai Yang like I care for Kaoru."

There was another long pause. Yue turned to face Hikaru, "Why'd you really say you were my boyfriend?"

Hikaru ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. Maybe because you're cute." He stuck his tongue out.

Yue's cheeks grew warmer. "Thanks…"

"Can I kiss you?"

Yue's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Can I?"

Yue's face heated up even more. "A-are you…God, this is why I hate you so much. You and your brother always tease me so much! And it isn't fair and I-"

But Yue got cut off with a pair of lips landing on hers. She sat there, completely stunned but not completely disliking it. She let her eyes flutter shut and her hands moved to Hikaru's hair, running through it.

The kiss was soft and sweet, nothing like Yue would have ever imagined it being, simply because Hikaru was a very rough and angry person. She almost didn't want it to end. But a greater part of her realized what exactly she was doing, so she pulled back forcefully, clamping her hand over her mouth. She looked at Hikaru with wide eyes. He only stared at her sheepishly.

"You kiss like a virgin Maid-chan. I guess I have to take back everything I said about you fucking your-"

"Stop it! Just…stop it." Yue stood and looked at him warily. "Just…go home. Please?"

Hikaru stood up and then leaned down to whisper, "I hope you know this is just the beginning."

He walked off the roof and into the house. Yue stayed upon the rooftop and watched him leave on his bicycle (after bidding her parents and brother a polite farewell). Yue sighed and went back inside, into her room which now seemed so foreign, and screamed into a pillow.

_The next morning I woke up with a headache. I remembered the night before and swore to myself it had to have been a dream. For what reason would Hikaru Hitachiin be so nice and, dare I say, pleasant company to be around? It simply wasn't possible. I must have been so tired that in a state of delirium, I imagined the entire thing. _

_Of course, that method of thinking only lasted until I returned to the Hitachiin manor, where I was greeted by a bemused Hideki._

"So, what is this I hear about you and master Hitachiin?"

"E-e-excuse me?" Yue stuttered.

Hideki forced back a smile. "Seems now I'm not the only one who will be teased around here."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your latest exploits with Master Hitachiin Hikaru is all anyone in the manor is talking about. Really child, I would have expected you to be much more subtle when pursuing them."

"Wait. WHAT?"

Yue raced inside, threw her bags near the staircase, and went in search of Ami or Taro to see what was going on. What she saw in the kitchen instead, however, was the twins.

They turned and smiled devilishly.

"Welcome home Yue."

* * *

**A/N: I know I've been away for…oh, forever. I'm sorry. School started and I've been getting behind. But I've finally had a free weekend to write. So…9 pages in word you guys. 9 pages. I hope it makes up for my absence.**


	13. September Part 2

**September (Part 2)**

_Confronted by the two people I least wanted to see, I did the only thing I could do. I ran._

_Of course, I didn't get very far because at that particular moment, Hideki chose to walk right by the kitchen door, blocking my only escape route. To this day, I swear on my life that he had the most sadistic smile I had ever seen spread across his face. Whether or not I liked it, I was trapped inside the room with the twins._

Yue turned to see that she was now cornered. Both Hikaru and Kaoru stood in front of her, preventing any way of escape. Yue crossed her arms and frowned, fighting the blush that was becoming more and more prominent on her face.

"Embarrassed?" A twin asked her.

Yue clucked her tongue. "No."

"Your face says otherwise."

"Shut up."

"Now, that was quite ill-mannered of you, was it not?"

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be obedient and well-trained Yue?"

Yue felt her face grow warmer as the twins continued to advance on her. One made a move to grab her wrist, but she quickly smacked his arm. He looked at her with distain and his brother quirked an eyebrow.

"Feeling feisty Yue?"

"Piss off. I've got things to do."

"…like?"

Yue glanced between the twins and bit her lip. "Like none of your business." She pushed by them using all the force she could. They smirked at each other before following her up the stairs.

"Oh, we just thought you would like to hang out with us…"

"…yeah, after all, you didn't mind being in my company yesterday."

Yue froze. She turned to see both twins sniggering. Her eyes narrowed. "You told him!"

"Who told who what?" they asked in unison.

"You told him and everybody in this house! I can't believe you!"

"But which you are you speaking of?" they asked again.

"Does it matter?!" she felt her face reddening, feelings of frustration and anger surfacing, "I can't believe you would sink so low. Every time I make progress you ruin it for me! What happened to us getting along?! I…I can't believe I trusted you!"

She turned and ran the rest of the way up the stairs and into her room. She threw herself on her bed and wiped away the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "They're so stupid…"

Yue rolled over and looked at her desktop. She grabbed a picture frame with a photo of her and Ayaka. She sighed. It had been a while since she had a girls day out, far away from Hikaru and Kaoru. Yue wondered if Ayaka would be interested in hanging with her for the day.

She fished out her cellphone from her jeans pocket and dialed the number. After two rings a familiar voice picked up, "Hey there Yue!"

"Want to go shopping with me today? I got my paycheck a few days ago and really need to go out and buy some new clothes."

"Oh…if it were any other day, you know I would be all over shopping! But Chikao and I are going to see a movie…I could go ask Ryu if he would consider another date with you."

Yue cringed at the memory. "No thanks. I can call someone else."

"Aw, alright. Sorry Yue."

Yue hung up her phone and sighed. There was a light knock on her door. She crossed her arms and didn't move. The knock grew louder. Yue didn't budge. The person knocked a third time and said, "You know, if you don't open the door, I could just walk in you know. This is my house."

Yue made a face, even if the twin couldn't see it, and got up off her bed. She opened her door and pursed her lips. "What?"

"I heard you needed a shopping partner."

"Yeah? So?"

"And from the look on your face, it seems as though your friend bailed."

Yue crossed her arms and looked away. "Ayaka was busy today. It's not her fault that she can't hang out with me."

"Maybe I could hang out with you then?"

"Where's your brother?"

The twin winced. "He…uh, had a bit of a tantrum and went into his room. He's not fun to be around when he's like this, so I thought…maybe…kill two birds with one stone, right?"

Yue hesitated. "What about work?"

"Your master is telling you to go out, isn't he?" The twin asked with a wink.

"You're not my master."

"Sure, sure."

Yue bit her lip. "Alright. We can go shopping then. But don't complain to me about being bored. This is my day. All for me." She grabbed her purse and tied her hair up in a ponytail.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

The two walked through the hallway and down the stairs before a thought occurred to Yue. "By the way, who are you?"

The twin chuckled and held open the front door. "Hang out with me for a bit and see if you can figure it out yourself. You're getting better at it. Somewhat."

_We went to a local strip mall and I tried to bargain with many of the sales people. The twin tagging along looked incredibly bored, but he wasn't complaining. I was surprised. So surprised, in fact, that I was feeling nice and asked him if he wanted to go anywhere. He only grinned at me and said that since it was my day, we could do anything I wanted. _

_So after bargain hunting for an hour, I asked to go to one of the city's bigger shopping malls. The twin brightened up at this and we took his limo. We walked through the mall for a bit, and he pointed out lots of clothes and told me all about their designers._

_He, unsurprisingly, had a great taste in fashion._

"Well, I do a lot of the designing between my brother and I." He told Yue, "He wants to take over the business part of Hitachiin Co. and I want to be the one to make all the clothes."

"I see. So were you the one that made the French maid uniform?" Yue asked playfully, remembering her first day of work.

He laughed a bit. "No, that was a collaborative effort. You would've looked pretty cute in it though."

Yue's cheeks grew warm and she tried to hide her face. "Thank you…" she mumbled.

The twin poked one of her cheeks. "You always hide your face. Why?"

Yue lowered her eyes, blushing even more. "No reason. Just not very confident. I never have been really…" She looked over at his inquisitive face. "I mean…I'm not exactly well known at my school, and when I was younger, I was bullied a lot because I looked kind of different. I tried being outgoing, and when I met Ayaka, she brought me out of my shell a lot more, but I…" she broke off. "Sorry, I don't mean to give you my life story."

"No, it's very interesting. It gives me some new insight."

They continued walking through the mall. The twin pointed out more clothing Yue could never even dream of affording. He smiled at her and asked, "You should go try on that dress. I think you'd look really nice in it."

"Ah…thank you. But I…I could never afford something so pricey."

"You don't need to buy it. Just try it on."

She hesitated a bit before he pushed her into the store. One of the clerks asked if they needed help to which the twin responded, "She wants to try on that beautiful gown."

Yue was shoved into the dressing room, where she changed into the dress. She stared at her reflection.

The dress was red with a few white sparkles on the bust, knee length, very tight around the waist before a wide poof due to a petticoat underneath. It looked incredible on Yue. She couldn't help but smile and twirl in it.

Yue exited the changing room and saw the twin standing near a rack nearby. She cleared her throat, causing him to look over at her. His mouth dropped a bit before he quickly recomposed himself (though Yue could see a very light blush spread across his face and ears). She smiled at him. "You like it?"

"You pull off that dress very nicely." He said, offering her his hand. She took it gingerly, and he pulled her into him. Her breathing hitched slightly and she looked down at the ground. He lifted her chin up with two fingers. "It's almost breathtaking."

"Really?"

"Really."

The twin spun her and began to waltz. Yue gasped, "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Dancing."

"B-but why?! People are starting to stare!" she hissed.

The twin shrugged. "Let them stare. And for God's sakes Yue, would it kill you to relax?"

Yue awkwardly tried to follow along in the waltz, but found herself tripping over her feet. The twin chuckled and placed his hands around her middle and opted for swaying. Yue felt her cheeks redden and beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "I don't understand. This morning you and your brother were just about ready to pounce on me and now you're…dancing with me. You don't make any sense at all!"

He took a long pause before answering, "We weren't liked either."

"Huh?"

"As kids. Well, it's more like we pushed everyone away from us because we were happy living in our own little world. We didn't think we needed anyone except ourselves."

"So you were selfish and self-centered. Doesn't seem like much has changed."

"You'd be surprised. We were awful people. Chased out everyone in our house – especially maids and nannies. But that changed when we joined the host club at Ouran. We made lots of new friends at school and became well liked with everyone."

"But you still act like total assholes at home."

The twin spun her absentmindedly. "I know."

Yue didn't know how she was supposed to respond to 'I know' so she didn't say anything. Instead she pulled herself closer to the twin, giving him a hug. The pair stopped dancing.

"What are you doing?"

"Just let me enjoy it."

"Like touching my body don't you?" he joked, but wrapped his arms around Yue anyway. He propped his chin on her head. "You like that dress?"

"It's gorgeous. Who could not love it?"

The twin pulled away and grinned. "Let me buy it for you."

Yue's jaw dropped. "No way! I don't need to be in your debt."

"Think of it as an apology from today."

"You can't just buy me things as way of apology. And maybe I don't want to forgive you." Yue took a few steps away. "And I wouldn't even know which one of you gave it to me."

"You don't want to take a guess?" He smiled slightly.

Yue shook her head and crossed her arms. She turned away from the twin and said, "I don't want to be wrong. I…"

"But you might not be wrong."

A silence fell. Yue began to feel uncomfortable and she started walking to the dressing room. She faced the twin and told him "I think we should just go home."

_That night I took a shower and thought about the twins. I've been around them for a long time, I should know who it was. Hikaru. Kaoru. Both totally different yet completely the same. But who would spend the day shopping with me? Who would dance with me in the middle of a busy store, even when no music was playing? _

_I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a good guess._

Yue walked back into her room, droplets of water from her hair hitting the floor. There was a box sitting on her bed, wrapped with a bow on top.

"Are you serious?" she asked the air.

She placed her hands delicately on the edge of the box and lifted the lid. It was the dress that she tried on earlier that afternoon. She shook her head and smiled. He had to be kidding. Where was she ever going to wear it?

She walked confidently down the hall and knocked on Kaoru's door.

"What do you need?"

Yue smiled and bowed. "Thanks Kaoru."

Kaoru grinned and put his hand on her head. He said, "Sure thing."


	14. October Part 1

**Chapter 14: October (Part 1)**

_Every year Omori High School has an autumn festival to celebrate the changing of the seasons. There are games like ring toss and bobbing for apples as well as contests for pumpkin carving and pie eating. Some of my favorite memories come from celebrating at the festival. For once I actually felt comfortable around Hikaru and Kaoru, so while walking home with Ayaka I asked if I could invite them along. But she was not happy with the idea at all._

"You're nuts." Ayaka said, snapping on her gum. "You really think that they would even want to go? I'm pretty sure that they think too highly of themselves."

"Well," Yue started, pulling at her hair, "I mean, I told you about what happened at the mall last month right? We've actually been getting along alright lately. I think…I just think it'd be fun is all."

"This is totally unlike you Yue. I mean, they ruined your date. They're bossy and annoying and you hate them."

Yue sighed. She knew that everything Ayaka was saying was true, but she wanted to have faith in them so badly. "Just give them a chance. They might surprise you."

"I think you've been brainwashed." The girls stopped walking. Yue refused to look at her friend, eyes averted down towards the sidewalk. Ayaka ran her fingers through her hair. "Alright. I don't know what you're seeing in them considering how awful they are to you, but if it will really make you feel happy…I guess you can ask them to come."

Yue smiled slightly and nudged Ayaka in the shoulder. "Thanks. And I'm sure it'll be fine. I think they're starting to like me."

"Hey. It's all about whether or not you like them. And you don't, right?"

"Y-yeah. Right."

"That's what I like to hear. Well, this is your stop then." Ayaka wrapped her arms around Yue in a goodbye hug. "I'll see you tomorrow right in front of the festival. 1 o'clock, don't be late."

Yue broke the hug and ran up the steps to the mansion, waving goodbye. She opened the front door and ducked into the kitchen where Ami was preparing dinner for later that evening.

"Hey Ami, what's cooking?"

Ami didn't look up from her bowl. "Hello m'dear."

Ever since the kissing incident from the month before, Yue's relationships with the rest of the servants began to fall apart. They knew it would happen eventually because it always did. The young maid always fell for the twins, whether they planned to or not.

Yue pushed herself onto the countertop. "Ami, don't be mad. I don't even like him. Them. Whoever it was. It was just…a heat of the moment kind of thing. A one time deal. And he came onto me."

Ami began chopping onions. "Listen, Yue. It's not that we're judging you for falling in love with them. In fact, we were in on a pool for when it was going to happen. It's just," she looked up, "you've already changed so much compared to when you first got here. It's like you forgot who you were."

Yue lowered her gaze. "I'm not in love with them. I'm just trying to be their friend." She jumped off the counter on to the floor. "They're assholes, I know. They're completely awful and aren't called terrors for nothing. I just think that maybe I should be the better person. Invite them to things, hang out with them, and be something more to them than just another maid who they've run out. Remember how, when I was first here, we couldn't even talk to each other. Look, we've come so far now. Sorta."

"It's true that they've been acting a little better," Ami said. She lowered her knife and placed her hands on Yue's shoulders. "Just don't let them get the better of you. You're too good for them. Remember that."

Yue chuckled. "Don't worry."

"Well you better get to inviting them out then. Go on." Ami shooed Yue out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

She made her way through the hall down to Hikaru's room. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on their door. Seconds later, one of the twins answered and cocked an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Yue cleared her throat. "Hi. I know this is weird and all, but did you guys want to go to Omori's annual autumn festival. It's tomorrow afternoon…I kn-know you guys really aren't into commoner things…it won't be extravagant or anything-"

"Oi! Maid-chan, get to the point. I don't have all day."

Yue stumbled back, startled by the brash attitude. "R-right. I just thought…you guys might have fun. Or something."

The twin pondered her request and then motioned for his brother to come to the door. They began to whisper to each other, occasionally glancing over at Yue. Finally, one said, "Why do you really want us to come Yue? Do you want to brag to your friends about having two boyfriends?"

"N-no!" Yue shouted, face turning red. "I just thought that since we're-"

"What?" one said, crossing his arms, "You thought we were friends or something?"

"Because" the other interjected "it'd be wrong to assume something you don't even have any proof of."

The first twin cradled his finger under Yue's chin and said, "Listen, it's nothing personal. I mean, we get that you want to be popular. I mean, being seen with us, people will talk."

"Oh god!" Yue pushed the twin away. "No! I don't want you posing as my boyfriend, or even worse – a fuck buddy. I just thought that after the hell you've put me through that we _were _actually friends now. I mean, one minute you're nice to me and now…ugh you guys are the worst!"

She turned to storm away when a twin gripped her shoulder. "Wait, Yue, stop. We're just messing with you." He loosened his grip and Yue turned to face them, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

The other twin had a small scowl on his face. "Yeah, Yue. Learn to take a joke. Of course we'll go with you to your stupid fair."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

_And so we did. The next day we left the Hitachiin mansion and made our way to Omori High School. There was already a large crowd forming, and I could tell that Hikaru and Kaoru were surprised at the turn out. And, dare I say it, they almost even looked happy to be there._

"Hey Yue!" Ayaka called. She was sitting on a bench in front of the festival with Chikao and their two other friends Sora and Misaki. They all waved her over happily.

Yue ran over laughing. The twins stood on the sidewalk, not moving. Yue looked back and furrowed her eyebrows. "Hey, aren't you guys coming?"

They looked at each other before following. "So these are your friends?" one asked.

Yue hesitated, and then nodded. She said, "You've already seen Ayaka around," Ayaka clenched her jaw and looked away, "and this is her boyfriend Chikao, he's our class president."

"Hey, I recognize you. You guys showed up to our double date a few months ago. Is that why Ryu refuses to hang out with us anymore?"

A silence fell in the group. Yue's face began turning red and she didn't look up from the ground. Ayaka crossed her arms and glared at the twins.

Sora coughed. "I'm Sora. I play basketball. Forgive Ayaka and Chikao. She's a real pain in the ass when you get on her bad side and he's just really blunt. Try not to think about it. You guys will be fine hanging out with us."

"And um, I'm Misaki. It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand for the twins to shake, which neither of them took. "So…who are you?"

The twins' jaws went slack. "You mean, you don't know about us?" one asked.

"Yue doesn't tell you anything?" the other said.

The group, save for Ayaka, shook their heads. The twins glanced at each other and a devilish smile crossed their faces.

"We're her lovers." They said in unison.

"AH-like hell you are!"

Sora and Misaki burst out laughing, Sora doubled over. "Y-you've haha got-gotta be haha kidding right? Yue with- oh this is too good. You're cool. Really cool. Yue seriously, you've got to introduce us to more of your friends outside of school."

"Tch. Shut up Sora. They're not my lovers."

"That's right, she prefers the term boyfriend." One twin said, slinging his arm around her shoulder. "She's a traditionalist."

Yue pushed his arm away. "This is Hikaru and Kaoru. They won't tell you which is which. Not that it matters, because they're both stupid."

"That hurts Yue."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want us to dump you in front of all your friends would you?"

"It would just break my heart." Yue said sarcastically.

Misaki looped her arm around Yue's. "Hey, hey. They're just being boys. Don't get like this, you're no fun when you're upset." Her eyes flickered over to Ayaka. "You too. What's with the pissed off look on your face? This is supposed to be fun! Hikaru, Kaoru, what do you guys wanna do first?"

"Seriously Misaki?! Don't ask them, they'll just make fun of everything here!" Ayaka shouted. She puffed out her cheeks. "We're going to go bobbing for apples. You obnoxious twits can join us if you don't mind being in our goddamned presence." She grabbed Chikao's arm and pulled him towards the bobbing barrels.

"Is she on her period or something?" one of the twins asked.

Misaki's gaze softened as she turned towards the twins. "She's just a little rough around the edges is all. Don't worry about Ayaka too much. She's always been too quick to judge."

The twins opened their mouths to say something, but Yue jabbed them both in the sides. "Shut it guys. Let's just go bob for apples, alright?"

The group headed over towards the bobbing competition. Yue was afraid that the twins would refuse to participate in the event that their clothes would get wet, but surprisingly, they looked excited about it.

The whistle blew and everyone was in their barrel, swallowing dirty apple water while trying to land a bite onto the skin or stem. Photographs were taken, people laughed, and the Hitachiin twins were quite adept at getting the apples. They were so good, in fact, that they nearly tied for first place. One of the brothers managed to get one more apple than the other.

"Ha, look I got a ribbon!" he boasted as the judge pinned a blue ribbon to his shirt. "It must be because of my talented mouth. Yue, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" he flashed a cheeky grin.

Yue rolled her eyes. "Not at all. It's probably disgusting like your personality."

He pursed his lips and lowered his face so it met hers. He brought his mouth up to her ear and whispered, "You know that's a lie. You loved kissing me, didn't you Yue? It's okay, you don't have to lie to me." He cupped her face, "In fact, I think you want to kiss me right now, don't you?"

Yue pulled away, face getting warm. "Hell no. Kissing you before was a mistake," she hissed. The twin's gaze hardened and he let his hand fall from her face. Yue looked away and said, "And anyway, you already knew that. It was a heat of the moment kind of thing. I wasn't me and you weren't you."

"Forget it. You're not even talking to the right twin." He let his hair fall into his eyes. "You know I'm Kaoru right? You're still so awful at telling us apart."

"I don't think you're really-"

"Yue shut up!" he turned to her, angry, "I was just teasing you! God, you're so stupid. Let's go carve some fucking pumpkins now or something!" He stormed over to the pumpkin carving table, still upset. Yue watched as he began stabbing his pumpkin with a knife. She felt very confused as to what just happened.

"Lovers squabble?" Sora asked teasingly.

Yue turned to him, eyes lowered. "I don't want to talk about it. He's dumb. They're dumb. I can't tell who is who and it isn't fair. And then stuff like this happens and I just…I just…"

"Hey, hey, hey." He put his hand on her shoulder, "It's fine. Just try to enjoy today and don't let him get you down. Like you said, they're dumb anyways. It's not worth it. Come on, Misaki said she wanted help with her pumpkin. Got a steady hand?" He smiled and led Yue over to the carving station. The twin looked at her with distain, but left her alone as she carved with her friends.

She was having so much fun that she didn't even realize that Hikaru and Kaoru had disappeared on her. She excused herself to go look for them. The festival grounds weren't too big, so unless they went home Yue figured she should be able to find them soon enough. And, after a few minutes of scanning the crowds, she saw two identical sets of auburn hair peeping out from behind a wall on the side of the school. Yue walked over and was about to ask them if they were getting hungry but instead heard them whispering to each other.

"You can't just get angry at her like that, Hikaru."

"We're only here because we feel sorry for her, you know. She should be grateful that we decided to come at all. I could've been-"

"Doing what? Sitting at home playing video games? Hikaru you're acting like a baby. Yue was nice enough to ask us to come because we're friends."

"No, she just thinks that we're friends."

"Can't you just admit that you want to be friends? Can't you just admit that you want to be nice to her?"

"Whose side are you on Kaoru? I thought we were in this together, remember? We were going to run her out and then never see her again! We should've stuck to that plan. She can go die in a ditch for all I care."

"You're ridiculous! All of this because she didn't think your kissing joke was funny?"

There was a long pause.

"Oh my God. Hikaru-"

Yue had heard enough and ran away back to her group of friends, who were sitting and eating at their lunch table.

"Hey Yue," Ayaka greeted, mouth full of rice, "we got you some candy." She pushed a bowl full of candy and other sweets towards Yue. "Feel free to eat whatever you-wait, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing. Just. It's nothing. How have you guys been enjoying the festival?"

Everyone in the group began to excitably talk about what they've done and what the group still needed to do before it was over. Ayaka simply stared at Yue, a very serious look on her face that said 'we are going to be talking later.' Yue shrugged at her and tried to smile at everyone else's stories while ignoring the pit that was beginning to form in her stomach.

After the group was done eating, they decided to have a race inside the corn maze. Sora immediately suggested having everyone split up into teams. "Me and Misaki, and Ayaka and Chikao, and Yue with…wait where did your friends go off to?"

"We're here. Sorry about disappearing on you!"

Yue turned around and saw both twins heading towards her, smiling and waving. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. But before she could say anything, Sora pushed her towards them and said, "Great! We got our teams, last ones out of the maze are a buncha rotten eggs!" he grabbed Misaki's arm and they ran towards the maze. Chikao and Ayaka followed suit, albeit a little begrudgingly on Ayaka's side. This left Yue alone with Hikaru and Kaoru, who were still smiling at her.

"Alright, what gives?"

"What do you mean Yue?" they asked in unison.

"I mean, earlier today o-one of you was yelling at me." She couldn't tell them apart from each other anymore, "I-I'd just thought that you bailed."

"Yue we could never do that to you." They said together.

"Besides," one started.

"We have an obligation-"

"-to kick ass at this maze."

They threw her arms over their shoulders and proceeded to run straight into the maze. All around the group were tall corn stalks. One twin propped Yue up on his shoulders, "Okay you're our navigation. Where do we go from here?"

"Put me down!"

"Yueeeeee" they whined, "just point us in the right direction."

Yue, heart beating fast from the fear of him dropping her, scanned the tops of the corn and pointed, "The end is over there. Now put me down!"

The twin set her down, mumbling, "Whatever. You were heavy anyway."

The trio made their way through the maze, with one twin periodically picking Yue up to see if they were still going the right way. They were all laughing and having fun running through the maze. Yue was in shock at how they could switch moods so quickly, but she decided to try and enjoy it while it lasted.

They were the last to get out of the maze, at around nearly sunset, but the twins were surprisingly not sore losers about it. In fact, they even congratulated Sora and Misaki, who were the first pair out. Sora gave each twin a fist bump.

"So, do we have to go home now?" One of the twins asked. "I mean, it's starting to get dark, so is it over?"

Misaki smiled. "No. Nighttime is the best because that's when the starlight hay rides start." She pointed over to where people were getting in line. "They take you all the way around our school, from the front to the furthest field. You lie down in the hay in the carriage and you can look up at the stars. It's pretty amazing."

The group got in line and after about twenty minutes of waiting Yue and the twins was up. They climbed into the hay cart and then they were off. Soon enough, they were away from all the noise and the three were sitting in silence.

"So Yue, we were wondering…why didn't you tell your friends how you know us?"

"B-because it's embarrassing. I mean, try imagining telling your friends that you have to work as a maid in order to pay your bills. It's not something you really want to admit." She lowered herself onto her back. "Besides, it's really none of their business anyways."

The twins also shifted so they were lying down, looking up at the night sky. One turned to her and asked, "Hey, can you show me where Orion's belt is again?"

Yue was taken aback, completely surprised. But she nodded and said, "Sure." She pointed out the constellations again, happy with herself. She had one twin on either side of her watching her point out the shapes in the stars. And, before she knew it, she was completely sandwiched in between Hikaru and Kaoru. "G-guys. You're kinda-"

"Yue, please."

"Just enjoy it."

And Yue remembered how she had seen them in the moonlight once before. How their pale skin was shining, their eyes reflecting the light of the moon. Messy auburn hair, now covered in hay, but still looking soft as ever. She managed to form a little smile on her face. _Perhaps I've learned to like you after all._

The ride eventually came to a stop and the three climbed out of the carriage. They waved their driver goodbye as he picked up the next students in line. Sora and Misaki were giggling to themselves and waving at the trio. Even Chikao looked happy. It seemed that the day had ended well for everyone.

All except for Ayaka, whose face was getting redder and redder with anger.

"Yue! What were you thinking?!" she marched over to Yue and poked her in the chest. "I'm sorry, I tried to be nice but you're just so"

"Hey, back off." One of the twins barked. "We've been nothing but nice to you."

"Yeah," the other chimed in, "what's your problem?"

"You've been horrible human beings since the day you were born. You're awful, you can't treat a girl right if your life depended on it, you're rude, crude, and completely fucked up. I hate you and I hate how you've taken my friend and ruined her life."

"Ayaka!" Misaki cried out, "They haven't done anything wrong!"

Ayaka looked at Yue, a look of guilt in her eyes, "Misaki, Sora, you don't understand. Yue isn't their friend at all. They're using her position to take advantage of her, and she's letting them!"

"What position?" Sora asked.

"Ayaka, you wouldn't-"

"She works for them! She's not their friend, she's just their maid. And just so you two know," she glared at the twins, "she hates your guts. She may just appear to be nice to you, but it's because she's such a doormat. The reality is that she can't wait to leave and go back to a normal life. She thinks you two are the worst people she's ever met and that she can't stand to be around you. She also says that it doesn't matter. Hikaru. Kaoru. You're both just the same; it doesn't matter who is who, really."

The twins looked at her, faces etched with sadness. One asked, "Did you really say all those things Yue?"

"No! I mean…not everything. But I just…you know we didn't get along at first. Part of the fault lies in-"

"Which twin am I Yue, do you even know?"

Yue was at a loss for words. Hikaru. Kaoru. Either one of them could've been the twin asking the question. She shook her head and choked, "I'm sorry."

"What kind of friend can't even tell two brothers apart?"

"But I guess it doesn't matter anyway, does it?"

Yue began to cry. "No, of course it matters! Why else do you think I try so hard to figure out who is who?"

The twins just shook their heads and began to walk away. Yue tried to follow them, but Ayaka pulled her arm back. "Yue, it had to be said. You know it did. They were taking over your life."

Yue shoved Ayaka as hard as she could. "Why? Because I thought it'd be nice to bring them along to a fair that's open to the public? Because I actually get along with them now? Did you think I was going to replace you or something? That would never happen! And now it never will because you've gone and ruined everything for me at their house. Work is going to be hell and now I can't even look at them anymore. Is that what you wanted?"

"You don't understand Yue! They won't change, especially for someone like you!"

"Maybe they would have."

Ayaka shook her head and began walking towards the street. "Yue, you're too naïve. The Hitachiin brothers change for no one. Remember that, and I promise that you will thank me later for this."

Yue watched Ayaka walk away until she disappeared. Chikao had left to get his car to find her and take her home. Sora and Misaki wrapped their arms around her and waited until she finished crying before walking her to the mansion.

_It was one of the most awful memories I have. I thought that night ruined the relationship I worked so hard to build up with the twins, but it wasn't. It was the night that planted the seed of doubt with my friendship with Ayaka. But that's a story for another time._

_That night, the twins refused to open their doors to me even when I begged. The words hit them too deep. I felt awful, even though it wasn't me who said them. I wished everything could go back to the moment of us lying in the hay carriage. Time was suspended and they weren't just my boss' kids. They were just my friends._

_I meant no harm. I just wanted to be nice. _


	15. October Part 2

**Chapter 15: October (part 2)**

_The weeks following the autumn festival incident were awful. The twins and I were back at square one and they didn't even want to try to make amends. I went back to being another maid to them, someone to tidy their rooms and that was about it. They didn't even demand for me to go run errands for them; in fact, they were so mad that they started getting things for themselves. I only caught a few glimpses of them here and there but they both refused to even look at me. But most of the time they were out of the house, usually with their host club friends._

_It seemed as though all hope was lost for me ever going back to the way things were, but everything changed on October 30__th__. _

It was late in the evening when Yue was making herself dinner. The house was very quiet – none of the residents were home and all the help had already excused themselves to their rooms. She had just finished garnishing her ramen and was heading back upstairs when suddenly she heard a group of voices behind the front door. The lights were off so she tried to quickly move upstairs, but she wasn't fast enough.

The door opened and the lights flickered on. _Ah damn._

"Hello princess! Long time no see."

Yue turned and smiled. "Ah. Yes, hello Tamaki. It has been a while, hasn't it? What brings you by?" She noticed that everyone had costumes and boxes of decorations in their hands.

"Well we're planning a Halloween event at Ouran. A haunted house filled with beautiful boys from another world." He did a turn and widened his eyes. "What do you think about that idea?"

"Um…" Yue didn't have the heart to tell him that really, a haunted house with beautiful boys didn't sound much like a haunted house at all. She put her noodles down on a ledge and walked towards the group, trying to figure out what to say. "Sounds great! I'm sure all the girls at Ouran will love it."

"But why didn't Hikaru and Kaoru tell you about this?"

"It didn't seem important Tono." The twins replied in unison.

"Uh…and besides," Yue started, "I guess we're just…not really friends so I'm not really all that offended that they didn't tell me." From the corner of her eye, Yue could see Haruhi raise an eyebrow. "I should make my leave. Sorry to disturb you all."

"Wait!" Tamaki called, "It would be rude to allow you to leave before I could formally invite you." He took Yue's hand and knelt down on one knee, looked up into her eyes and asked, "Miss Yue, it be our pleasure to have you attend the Host Club Haunted House tomorrow evening."

Yue's heart did a pitter-patter.

"Oi, lay off the charm. She's just a maid!" one of the twins called. The other shrugged and crossed his arms, seeming to agree.

"Well, it's no way to treat a lady." Tamaki stood with Yue's hand still in his. "Please, princess. It would be lovely if you could come."

She began to panic and shake her head. "I couldn't Tamaki, really. I'm not…I'm just not the haunted house type of girl. And…" she noticed Tamaki's eyes fall, and a frown began to find its way on his face. Yue sighed and said, "actually, maybe I can go after all."

Tamaki grinned and jumped for joy. He squeezed Yue's hand and said, "You'll have a great time Yue, I'm sure of it!"

Yue glanced over at the twins; one looked annoyed and the other was giving her a very faint smile. They both beckoned for the rest of the group to follow them up the stairs, leaving Yue alone with herself once again. She picked up her ramen and took a bite.

"Aw, they've gone cold."

"Yue-senpai?"

Yue looked up. At the top of the stairs stood Haruhi, looking very concerned. She coughed and said, "Haruhi, aren't you supposed to be upstairs planning your haunted house with the others?"

Haruhi began to walk down the steps. "Kyoya-senpai has everything taken care of. They don't really need me here, I think they just want to put me in an angel costume."

"O-oh."

Haruhi met Yue at the bottom of the stairs and gestured for them to sit on the bottom steps. Once Yue sat down, Haruhi asked, "Is there anything going on between you and Hikaru and Kaoru?"

"You mean they didn't tell you?"

Haruhi shook her head and said, "They've just been acting weird. Weirder than they usually do. And I thought maybe you'd know."

Yue slouched and put her face in her hands. "Haruhi it's not fair. How am I supposed to tell them apart? How is anyone supposed to be able to tell them apart? They don't make it easy and they say you're wrong if you're right but then they just…they get so mad if you are wrong. What am I supposed to do?"

Haruhi nodded, understanding. "Hikaru and Kaoru are very sensitive, even if it doesn't always seem that way."

"Can't you tell them apart? How do you do it?"

"I don't know. I wish I could tell you. Hikaru is Hikaru and Kaoru is Kaoru and that's as simple as I can make it." Haruhi frowned and pulled her knees up to her chest. "But, I don't think that they hate you."

"Come on Haruhi, you saw the way that they treated me."

"It's different. The first few times I met you is when they hated you. But then they started to like you. They talked about you sometimes at school."

"They talked about _me_?"

Haruhi smiled and said, "Yeah. They'd sometimes mention hanging out with you over the weekend and Hikaru told me about meeting your family. Tamaki-senpai always asked why they never brought you around but they'd never answer." She paused and then stood and continued, "Yue, I think they want to be your friend, they just don't know how yet."

"Well it doesn't matter because it's all been ruined anyway."

"You should come to the haunted house. Even if it doesn't help you, you're always welcome to talk to me."

Yue laughed and said, "Thanks Haruhi. You're a good friend."

_The next night Hikaru and Kaoru took me to Ouran High School in their lim. The ride there was in complete silence, with the twins sitting on one side of the car and me on the other. They were wearing matching devil costumes, and I had on an old leather jacket and ripped jeans. I felt ridiculous being so nervous around them, but I knew that trying to start a conversation would be like walking on eggshells._

_When we arrived at their school, they immediately ditched me and ran off to their clubhouse, leaving me to wander the hallways alone._

"Hello?" Yue called out. "Is there anyone there?" She walked through bright pink hallways, wondering how anyone managed to get around the school – it was huge!

She turned down another corridor, but it was hopeless. Everywhere looked the same. And almost all the doors were locked. Yue sighed to herself and leaned against the wall. She was lost and no one was going to find her now. Suddenly, all the lights went out and she heard the faint sound of a music box.

"Guys?" she called out hesitantly. She looked around, but it was pitch black and she couldn't see much further than a few inches in front of her face. She gulped, but decided to follow the music as it was her best chance to get back to the others.

Yue put one hand on the wall to guide her through the hall. She felt her heart pumping faster, even though she continually told herself that there was nothing to be afraid of. "It's a haunted house for beautiful boys. It's not supposed to be scary."

_Thump, thump, thump _went a set of footsteps behind Yue. She turned, breathing heavily. "H-hello?" No one responded to her. She turned back and kept walking when she heard another _thump, thump, thump_. This time, when she turned, she tripped over her feet and fell to the ground. Before she had time to pick herself up, something grabbed her left ankle. Yue screamed gave whatever it was a swift kick with her free foot and then got up and ran as fast as she could. Down the hallway and around a corner when there was a flash of light and something resembling the Grudge was illuminated.

"HOLY FUCK!" Yue screeched before turning and sprinting away as fast she could. She could hear other screams behind her but she didn't stop to worry about them. She began pulling on all the doors before she found one of the unlocked janitor closets. She slammed the door shut, turned on a light, and then sat in the corner of the room, head buried in her knees. Tears started to fall down her cheeks and onto the floor. She was so scared. Scared and alone.

Half an hour had passed and Yue still hadn't moved. She didn't want to go back out into Ouran's halls alone, but she knew that no one was going to come to her rescue.

The closet door was suddenly pushed open. "YUE!"

She looked up and saw Hikaru and Kaoru standing in the doorway. She breathed and sigh of relief and sniffled. "You guys came looking for me?"

One twin stepped towards her and sat down on her left. "Sure."

The other twin followed suit and sat on Yue's right. "Why did you come in here?"

Yue shook her head and managed a weak chuckle. She said, "I don't know…it was the first open door I found. I was…really scared. Your haunted house was better than I thought it would be."

"You didn't even walk through the whole thing. You ran in the opposite direction."

"Oh." Yue suddenly felt very embarrassed. She always believed that she wasn't easy to scare and now here she was, afraid of the entrance to a haunted house. "Well you guys did good."

"Listen…" one twin started, grabbing her hand, "we were talking."

"And we decided…" the other twin continued, grabbing her other hand.

They looked at each other, nodded, and then finished, "We're sorry."

Yue was in shock. She took a few deep breaths before asking, "Really? You mean that?" They nodded in affirmation. She leaned her head back and then asked, "Well…what made you change your minds?"

"I just…didn't want everything to turn back into a pumpkin again."

"Huh?" Yue tilted her head, "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't want everything to fall apart if we open up to other people. Hikaru and I don't have many friends, so we're trying to…trying to keep everything the way it is until it all unravels. And you were changing how things were supposed to be. So when your friend said that we didn't mean anything to you…"

"It's as though the transformation started?" Yue asked. Kaoru nodded.

The three gave a collective sigh. "So what do we do now?" Hikaru asked.

"That depends," Yue started, "on what I am to you. Am I your maid or am I your friend? Am I someone you want to hang out with because you like me or because you're bored? Or…do you just want me around so no one else can have me?"

The twins stood and looked down at Yue. They each offered her a hand to help her up. Kaoru said, "Tonight you're our guest to the Host Club Halloween After-Party."

Yue smiled and said, "I'd love to go."

_We walked down to the Host Club clubroom and enjoyed a night full of candy, soda, and Halloween spirit. Most of the other guests were customers of the host club, and they were actually pretty welcoming. I spent most of the night at Haruhi's table but I'd look over at the twins occasionally. They mostly flirted with each other (which made me shudder) but sometimes they would look back at me and smile._

_It was actually a pretty fun night. And even though I still had no idea where I stood with Hikaru and Kaoru, at least things were looking better. _

After the party was over, the twins and Yue said their goodbyes and walked to the limo. They all climbed in and sat on the same side. They were all pretty exhausted from the long night, but Yue had to ask them, "Hey, tonight I was your party guest…what am I going to be to you two tomorrow?"

Their faces had gone hard. Yue knew that meant nothing good. One twin brushed a lock of her hair back and said, "It's complicated."

Yue shook her head. "No. No it doesn't have to be. You like me. I like you. How much more simple can it get than that?"

"Yeah," the other twin started, "but I think you've already started referring us to 'twin on your left' and 'twin on your right' by now. Haven't you?"

"You don't know which one of us is which anymore; isn't that right Yue?"

Yue was at a loss for words once again. Was this always going to be their default argument whenever they made progress? She let her hair fall into her face, which was all the answer that the twins needed.

"I thought you didn't want things to go back to being a pumpkin? Was that all a lie?" she asked desperately.

One twin looked at her, pity in his eyes. "Yue, you have to understand that we're always going to put each other first. We don't want the carriage to turn into a pumpkin, but it's what's going to happen eventually. I know you don't understand. I know it's not fair. But it's just easier if we all keep our distance."

"That's a defeatist attitude Kaoru and you know it!" Yue said furiously, "I don't understand how you two keep up with yourselves. One minute you're apologizing and want to take me to a party and the next minute you're telling me you want nothing to do with me anymore. Can't you just pick one side and stick with it? You're both putting me through hell and I want to tear my hair out. At this point it might actually be better if we did go back. Hating you was easier than dealing with this mess!"

The limo came to a halt and the group was outside the Hitachiin mansion. Yue was about to get out when a voice said, "Hey, why'd you think I was Kaoru?"

Yue turned to look at the twins. She shook her head and said, "I don't know. A long time ago you said I was getting better at guessing. Maybe now it's finally showing. I have no reasoning, I guess, besides the fact that you were talking about pumpkins earlier." She got out and started walking up the front steps. "And anyway" she called over her shoulder, "Kaoru, you're much more reserved. The defeatist attitude fits you better than it does Hikaru."

Yue heard the twins whispering to themselves but didn't look back. She walked straight into the house and up to her room. The twins could sort their own problems out, she figured, but she knew exactly where she stood. She sat down on her bed and took a deep breath. "Geez, no one told me this job was going to be so complicated." She fell over on to her side. "This is not what I signed up for at all."

There was a knock on her door. Yue quickly sat up and called, "Come in!"

A twin walked in, one hand scratching the back of his neck. His eyes refused to meet hers. "Hey, listen…about today…"

"It's…nothing, really." Yue reassured. "You've made yourselves clear. This was supposed to be a professional relationship anyways."

"A bit late for that, don't you think?" he asked teasingly, eyes suddenly mischievous. "Already kissed your bosses and worked your way into their circle of high and powerful friends."

"Well, I try." Yue responded, a smirk starting to form on her face. "You really like to poke fun at me whenever you can, don't you?"

"Depends. Can I sit?"

Yue nodded and the twin sat down on the opposite side of her bed. Yue moved over and asked, "So where's your brother?"

"In his room. I just wanted to talk to you alone."

"Who are you?"

The twin only grinned and said, "You know, I think I'll let you try and figure it out for yourself. You are getting better at it. That was Kaoru earlier you know. We were both surprised."

"You shouldn't be." Yue said dismissively. "It was still only a guess. I'm no Haruhi. So…what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

He thought about his words carefully and then said, "We have our own little world, you know? It's hard for us to bring in more people, more friends. We were so against letting anyone in. We didn't even want to join the host club. It's like, everyone was an enemy to us because they didn't care. Hikaru, Kaoru. It made no difference. Girls especially, didn't care about which twin they got so long as one of us. It's not anything personal. It's just who we are, and we thought you should know that."

Yue tried to take this information in and said, "So it's impossible for any kind of friendship to work?"

"Not impossible."

"This is ridiculous. We're going through so much trouble, doesn't that prove anything?"

"Why do you even want to _be_ our friend Yue? We're not nice to anyone, we live in a bubble, we're mean to you and apparently your friends. Everyone else hates us, why do you bother even trying?" his eyes met hers and he winced.

"Because I've seen the other sides of you. Because, even though you've done awful things, you can be really cool people. My family likes you, Sora and Misaki like you, and clearly you have your own set of friends who must like you since they're around you so much. If you two would just open up a little bit more you'd realize that life will greet you with open arms. But if you stay closed off you're just going to hurt and be hurt."

They sat looking at each other for a few minutes, neither one knowing what to say. Finally, the twin leaned forward and kissed Yue's forehead. He got off her bed and headed for the door. He turned back, just slightly, and said, "Thanks, Yue."

"You're welcome."

"Did you figure it out? Which twin I am?"

Yue shook her head no. "I'm sorry. I wish I knew. I wish more than anything that I knew. But I haven't the slightest idea."

He looked at the ground, a look of disappointment spreading across his face. "Good night."


End file.
